


Running with the Wolves

by casa_de_elite



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015), Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Supernatural Hunters, Alternate Universe - Wolves, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/F, F/M, Fluff and Angst, I Will Go Down With This Ship, It totes is dw, Lucy Lane (DCU) Ships It, Lucy/Lena brotp, Mutual Pining, OR IS IT, Pack Dynamics, References to Teen Wolf (TV), Sharing a Bed, Slow Burn, SuperCorp, Team Dynamics, The pack are a family and i love them, Truth or Dare
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-09
Updated: 2018-07-02
Packaged: 2019-05-05 23:01:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 24,826
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14628849
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/casa_de_elite/pseuds/casa_de_elite
Summary: Lena Luthor moves to National City with her Hunter family's motto in mind –we hunt those who hunt us.What happens when she meets the powerful Alpha, Kara Danvers? Will it be sparks and sunshine or betrayal and death?Or a Teen Wolf-inspired idea where Kara is the Alpha, Lena is a Hunter, and they fall in love. (Side of Clark/James cos they cute)Complete.





	1. Home Sweet Home

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Aeneas](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aeneas/gifts).



> ****  
>  _HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MASYOUNG!!!!!!_   
> 

The soft flurries of snow drifted down on to the roads, and Lena pressed her eyes shut, trying to drown out the sound of her step-mother's voice. The car had been engulfed in the dark of the night for hours, since they had packed their bags back in Gotham City. Lena didn’t want to move again; she had _friends_ in Gotham, she had just started to make a life. And now her father was taking that from her yet again.

She touched her forehead to the car’s window while she thought about her father.  
He'd made them move halfway across the country for a potential job opportunity. Lena knew about her family's business, she wasn't naïve. They were supernatural hunters, it had been in the family for generations. There were other families too, but the Luthors were the prominent Hunters in the North. That was why they had to move between Midvale, Metropolis, Gotham City and now National City.  
The snow had turned into rain now, it hammered heavily on to the car's roof.  
Lena spared a glance at Lillian, who's hands gripped the steering wheel with an intense amount of control. The raven-haired girl mentally scoffed; she was well-versed in the control Lillian imposed on others.

"Stop daydreaming. Be alert. Take note of your surroundings," Lillian said, her eyes never straying from the road as she spoke. Her step-mother's frown was accentuated by the wrinkles, and her lips were pressed in a tight line.

Lena refrained from rolling her eyes but she sat up in her seat and stared at the woods outside.  
They were fairly isolated. It reminded her of Midvale, the isolation. They hadn’t seen any houses yet, just the supposedly endless drool of cedar and pine.  
The moon barely filtered through the dense trunks but the stars lit the skies between the dreary rain clouds.  
The darkness pressed in to the car from all angles and Lena had to remind herself not to be afraid of the dark. It was an irrational fear, she'd had it since she was first trained to shoot an arrow, when she was first exposed to the supernatural. She'd been trained from the moment she was born to be strong. To be a Hunter.

Lena sighed and faced Lillian, "Why did we have to leave." It wasn't a question, she knew that. She'd had to uproot her life, leave her friends, so many times before for her father. And he wouldn't give a _moment_ to see her grow up. She hated it.

"Your father got a job," Lillian stated, her hands smoothing down the leather of the steering wheel again.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, Lena saw a movement in the corner of her eyes, like a brown streak of something terrifying and magical. She whipped her head in the direction of the movement but the trees had been overcome by a blackness that even the limited moonlight couldn't aid.

"Wait,” Lena slammed her hand on the dashboard, causing Lillian to break sharply. They skidded to a stop on the dirt road and the seatbelts pinched as they flew forward with the force.

Lillian frowned at her, the disapproving, confused look she always used on Lena. The older woman scanned the immediate vicinity quickly before settling her attention to her daughter, "What?"

"Shh," Lena hushed her and slowly, tentatively opened the door.

The silence around them was deafening, it was almost comparable to a graveyard. The trees towered over her and she tried not to shiver as the feeling of fear spread through her chest. She didn't know what compelled her to leave the comfort of the car but there she was.  
The cold bit at her cheeks and she buried herself deeper into her coat, shuddering at the temperature. She definitely didn't shudder from fear. No. It was the cold.

"Lena!" Lillian called her from the car, but she didn't respond. The voice sounded like a distant cry, like Lena was drowning in the darkness while Lillian hovered above, just out of reach.

There was something out there, she could feel it. From the lifetime of training she'd received she knew she’d seen something. One of Lionel's first lessons was to never doubt yourself.  
So she straightened her back, sifting through the curtain of trees and into the woods.

She flicked her hair out of her way and grimaced as her shoes melted into the soft mud. She steeled herself to keep moving and tried to ignore the churning fear in the pit of her stomach. She had to prove herself to be not only brave but observant.

The scent of the wet rain on the decomposing fallen trees on the ground assaulted her nostrils and Lena shook her head to stop the irrational fears creeping in. She could feel her skin crawling, as if someone was watching her. But she was strong. She wasn’t scared. She was strong.  
She lifted her head up slowly, trying to locate the source of the 'pull' that found her deep in a woodland. When she spotted it, the raindrops landed on her but she couldn’t bring herself to care.

It was a faint aura, like a halo of gold around a tree to her right. The beauty of the creature was almost so ethereal that Lena felt sure she'd imagined it. But the wolf let out a purr, it was soft, much softer than Lena had expected. The wolf's eyes shone a crimson red, but it didn't approach her, which Lena thought was strange. She'd always been taught to kill first, ask questions later. Maybe some creatures were peaceful. This wolf didn't look like it wanted to hurt her.  
Lena braced herself, bottling up her fears, and crouched lower. She wouldn't get hurt. She was sure of it. Extending her hand, she offered it, palm up, to the wolf. The creature sniffed at it lightly, glancing back up at Lena's eyes, which she'd tried to soften as much as possible.

"Hey," Lena started. She smiled at herself, thinking maybe she'd finally snapped and gone insane. Nevertheless, she stroked her hand down the top of the wolf's head, surprised that she was allowed to get this close. It was stupid but she felt a connection to the creature, "What's your name?"

She wasn't expecting a reply, obviously, but the wolf nuzzled into her hand and its eyes stopped glowing, instead turning back to a cerulean blue shade that Lena wanted to memorise. They looked aged, like they'd seen the death of worlds, seen the rise and fall of dynasties. The wolf's light brown fur ruffled in the breeze and stuck together from the rain and Lena wanted nothing more than to take it home, give it a place to live. It was the humane side of her, not the practical side. Instead, she took off her coat, wrapping it around the wolf in an attempt to dissipate some of the coldness.

"Lena!" Lillian's sharp voice cut through the strange trance Lena had been in.

The wolf's hair stood up with fear, her eyes wild and red as her ears twitched, locating the source.

"It's okay," Lena tried, but the wolf had already turned away, its paws padding across the mud away from the teen, still carrying her coat.

"Lena, what are you doing?" Her step-mother sounded exasperated.

She could probably imagine how insane she looked – knelt on the ground, her hair dripping with rain, coat missing, a crazed look in her eye. Lena turned back to her 'mother' but didn't respond. She stomped back to the car in silence, listening to the howl of the wind through the trees, trying to hear the wolf again, to find a way of knowing it was real.

When they got back into the car, Lillian spared her a concerned glance. Lena was surprised at the emotion; Lillian had been known to readily bury her emotions.

"Let's get to the new home. Get you out of these clothes," Lillian said, starting up the car again.

As the National City Preserve whipped past them, Lena couldn't help but wonder if it was just a dream. A random hallucination brought about by her sleep-deprived subconscious. But, if she concentrated, she could feel the lingering touch of the fur on her hand. And she knew it was real.  
If she told her parents they would want to hunt the wolf. She couldn't let that happen, the wolf seemed peaceful enough not to kill her. It made her have second thoughts about wolves, and supernatural creatures in general. Maybe they didn't have to kill every one. Maybe some were actually good.  
In that moment, she made up her mind – instead of their family’s motto of ‘we hunt those who hunt us’, she would follow her own path. She would _protect_ those who couldn’t protect themselves. Even innocent wolves.

 

They pulled up outside a house in the middle of the woods, no other house in sight, and Lena stared at in in awe. The old House of El was a skeleton, a memory of what used to be. Lena had heard the news, everyone had. The location of the fire that had killed many of the El family had been for sale for years. The news had reported that the fire had been an accident, a kitchen mishap but everyone knew it was intentional.  
It had been the Luthors who had killed the family. More specifically, it had been Lex. She didn’t know why he went after the El family but he was hell-bent on revenge and couldn’t see past it. Her half-brother had been exiled from the family soon after Lionel found out.

Lena inhaled deeply before swinging the door open and carrying her suitcase into the house, trying her best to ignore the soot and not think about the dozens of dead people who once lived there.

 

* * *

 

The wolf had awoken to the soft breaths of her Pack. She lifted her head from her paws, whining softly at the sliver of moon outside the coyote den, which was a drifting ghost through the pine and cedar on the mountainside. The rest of her Pack slept peacefully but Kara's dishevelled mind refused her the privilege.  
Kara didn't deserve the gift of sleep, not after she'd killed her own Beta.  
The she-wolf shook her head as to banish those thoughts from her mind, her light brown fur ruffling with the motion.

The air around her was cold as the snow turned into sleet and eventually rain; it was nearly winter again, but she felt something burn inside her, a fire that heated her skin under her thick winter coat.  
She rose and loped silently to the stream, the water mirroring the scene above them, creating a soft glow across the water. Her muscular figure drowsed in the shimmer of moonlight, drawing on its power. Her muzzle shattered the visage of the moon in the water as she quenched her thirst.  
She often wondered why she'd been given the Gift. She didn't deserve it. She wondered if the Gift was even something to be thankful for. It ruined her life – the power to change from wolf to human and back again... it brought suffering and sorrow in its wake, with a cruel sense of awareness of how humans really behaved.

Ever since the fire at the House of El, people looked at her differently. Only the few who were Hunters knew their family were werewolves, but still the humans looked at her with sympathy in their eyes, and Kara hated it. She hated being judged. She hated having to put on a brave face.

She heard the spluttering of an engine nearby, her mind instantly going to the Hunters. It had to be them. Her Pack had been tipped off that they were coming to National City, but Kara didn’t think it would be so soon.  
She raced along the treeline, her muscles pumping with exertion as she weaved through the fallen trees and over the stream. The wind tousled her fur as she ran, giving her a liberating sense of confidence.

The wolf’s eyes burned scarlet when she spotted a car driving on the dirt roads.  
The car stopped abruptly and if the face of the wolf allowed her to frown she would have done. A young girl stepped out of the car slowly, and Kara watched on from a distance. The girl couldn’t be more than sixteen but she carried herself with pride.

Kara sniffed in their scent, surprised at the subtle aroma of a rose perfume. She dropped lower to slink along the ground as her eyes scanned the area. It couldn’t be a threat, the girl wasn’t carrying any weapons.

The Alpha froze; the observer waited in the long shadow of one of the pines, the moon creating a harsh glow on her pale features with a divine elegance.  
Her jaw went slack while she bared her teeth but then the girl extended her arm, her hand stroking the top of her head. Kara hadn’t been touched like that in a long time, not since her mother’s passing. She found a strange comfort in it and allowed her to continue.  
When she spoke it was the most majestic sound Kara had heard in all her time, “Hey,” The girl had muttered, and the wolf’s eyes fluttered closed at the sound, “What’s your name?”

Kara tilted her head, her cheek colliding with the girl’s hand again. She couldn’t answer, there was still a chance the girl didn’t know about her kind.  
The Alpha was surprised at the familiarity in the girl’s touch, at how she was calmed even in her presence. She could have stayed there for hours, just basking in the human's reassuring presence.

However the mirage shattered when she heard another heartbeat. She chastised herself for getting too distracted.

“Lena!” The voice called.

The girl – Lena – didn’t respond, but Kara knew it was her time to leave. With one last look at Lena she turned back, loping slowly back towards her Pack.

She had been walking for a few moments before she deemed it safe to shift. Kara stretched her arms above her head as if to embrace the moon, the hair receding to blonde locks which framed her face perfectly. The silver light shone on her face and Kara’s claws slid slowly away to their human blunt nails. She felt something fall from her figure and smiled down at a coat, which she supposed the girl had given her. She wrapped it around her lithe body and revelled in the warmth.

She felt someone nuzzle their nose into her leg and reached her hand down to stroke the top of her cousin’s head. Clark leaned into her touch and they made their way back to the coyote den in silence. She knew she needed to get some rest before the first day of the new term tomorrow, but as they settled into the den Kara's mind strayed to the kind girl she'd just met. There was something different about her.

She didn’t dwell on the thought much longer as the pleasant sleep overtook her body. It was the first time in a long time she’d been blessed with a sleep undisturbed by her nightmares.  
An almost silent voice in her mind wondered if the girl had anything to do with that.

 

* * *

 

Lena’s muscles pumped to the music as she skipped over the trunk of a fallen tree. Her steps matched the beat of the song she had playing through her headphones and she sighed with peace. It felt good to be outside again; she hadn’t ran since they left Gotham.

She had mostly moved in to her roof bedroom at the old House of El, but there was still the lingering feeling of sadness that came with the house. It was Lex’s fault. It was all Lex’s fault – the constant moving because Lionel wanted to correct his mistakes, having to live in fear of the authorities finding out who the perpetrator was who set the house fire.

But at some point the house needed to become theirs. So she had unpacked most of her clothes and other belongings before the start of the school term.  
She rolled her eyes when the song changed to a faster tempo and dug deep to continue the pace.  
That was another thing she hated about moving all the time; she never really had a place to call home.

Her sweat clung to her skin as she changed the song, flicking through her playlist before she collided with a something hard.  
Lena screwed her eyes shut, waiting for the inevitable feeling of her back against the ground.  
It didn’t come.

Instead, Lena felt a hand on her small of her back, holding her up. She grabbed on to the source, surprised at the dense figure.  
A small part of Lena’s mind wanted it to be the wolf; she hadn’t seen it since last night but she didn’t want to get her expectations up. She cracked an eye open and was met with the most beautiful pair of sapphire orbs staring back at her, worry etched in her chiselled features.  
There was something familiar about her eyes, as if Lena had seen them before.  
Instead of dwelling on that thought for too long she watched as the blonde in front of her sighed with what appeared to be relief.

Lena’s eyes flicked down to rosy lips and she noticed they were moving.  
Lena shook her head out of her daze and moved her hand from the other girl’s shoulders to yank out her headphones. The blonde, who had seemingly come from nowhere, balked and retracted her hand, allowing Lena to stand up straight. Lena wouldn’t admit it, but she could feel a tingling sensation, a phantom of where the hand had been. She didn’t want to think what that meant.

“I’m so sorry, I know you’re not meant to just grab people like that and I was so worried and I didn’t want you to hit your head I’m _so_ sorry,” The blonde rambled, not noticing Lena’s growing smirk, “I totally understand if you want me to leave you alone, you’ll never see me again. Bye.”

“No, wait!” Lena reached out her hand to stop the girl from leaving, “Thank you. For _saving_ me.” She exaggerated, seeing her companion’s lips twitch with the ghost of a smile.

“Oh, um, you’re welcome,” The blonde responded, ducking her head with a grin which Lena found quite endearing.

She noticed the bag hanging off the girl’s shoulder and pointed to it, “Do you, by any chance, go to National City High? I’m a new transfer.”

The girl’s eyes lit up and Lena swore she was looking at a whole other galaxy within them, “I do! It’s the first day of the new term so don’t be late, Miss Grant’s a stickler for timing.”

Lena glanced at her watch, noticing it was a whole hour before they had to get to the first lesson. Before she could reply, though, the other girl held out her hand.

“I’m Kara, by the way,” Lena noticed how the blonde’s gaze seemed to flick between her eyes and her lips and tried not to let it get to her head.

“Lena,” She took her offered hand, giving it a shake, their hands lingering with a familiar connection.

She thought she saw something resembling recognition pass over the blonde’s features but she wasn’t too sure.

They let go of each other’s hands and a shy blush blossomed on the blonde’s cheeks. Lena tried not to raise her eyebrow at the flustered girl but failed, a smirk overtaking her features. Kara’s eyes lit up again, and she looked straight at the raven-haired girl.

Lena frowned suddenly, something in her posture changing. She knew those eyes. For somewhere. But...she couldn’t place it. It was like a memory, locked away just well enough that she could only see the surface.

But it was enough to warrant further investigation, “Do we know each other? I mean, have we met before?”

“I... don’t think so,” Kara answered slowly, narrowing her eyes slightly. The blonde glanced at her watch and exhaled loudly, “I should get going, don’t want to be late.”

“Yeah, sure,” Lena watched as Kara wrung her hands nervously and then bounced on her heels, practically running to get to class.

The Hunter watched as Kara skipped across the ground. Lena threaded her hands through wind-tousled hair and tried not to smile at the warm feeling she felt inside her chest. She hadn’t felt this way before, and that scared her.  
She shook her head, stuffing her earbuds back in. She reached her home in under two minutes and had a quick shower to get ready for her first day at National City High School.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm gonna try to fuse Lena's personality with Allison Argent's so hopefully this works!!  
> 7 chapters over 7 days, and as always, lemme know what you think. constructive criticism or just downright criticism is always appreciated


	2. Painful Memories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stuff gets interesting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> #ClarkKentAsDerekHaleAnyone?

Clark readjusted his belt and slipped his fingers into the loopholes of his Police uniform, making his way into the Precinct, the determined glint in his dull emerald eyes forcing his colleagues not to speak.  
He slid behind his desk at the 8th Precinct and took his gun and badge off, stashing them in his top drawer as per usual. He gave a quick nod to Officer Olsen and he smiled back.  
Clark desperately tried to focus on the case on the computer in front of him. He needed to get this bust. Otherwise, the Sherriff would bench him again. The case was some B&E that the homeowners had reported a week after so there was little to no way Clark could recover enough evidence to find the people responsible.  
He cradled his head in his hands, wiping at his tired eyes with frustration. He clenched his jaw when he closed his eyes, angry that the vision of the El family, of _his_ family, burning immediately invaded his senses.

 _Clark watched on helplessly as the rain beat down on the raging fire that had overtaken his house. The crackling filled his ears when he tried to scan for any survivors, the harsh scent of burnt flesh mixed with rain forcing him to gag in disgust._  
_He whined in pain when he saw Kara carrying Alura out of the fire, which had claimed their skin with ash and blackness._  
_He ran up to his aunt, skidding to a stop in front of her body. Alura's skin was covered in the remnants of the flames and she took a gasping breath, spluttering over Kara's lap. The blonde wiped her mother's tears away with the pad of her thumb and glanced back at the fire, at the place they called home a mere hour ago._

_“Did your father make it out?” Alura asked, her eyes landing on Clark._

_The beta shook his head, forcing the lump in his throat away, not trusting himself to speak._

_Alura nodded slowly, “No one else survived?”_

_“Mom...” Kara started, watching as her mother spluttered again, “Stop talking, let us find help,” Alura’s hand on her arm stopped Kara from running._

_"Kara," Alura gulped down her tears, "Kill me, take my power. Please."_

_"No," Kara shook her head, her hair flailing in front of her. Clark slid his hand on to his cousin's shoulder. She knew what to do, "Don't make me do this. There has to be another way."_

_"Please,” Alura repeated quieter, her eyes flashing crimson when Clark guided Kara's claws to her mother's burnt flesh, “You’ll make a great Alpha. I know you will.”_

_“Tell me what to do, mom,” Kara begged, the tear rolling down her cheek as she pierced the flesh, “How do I protect our family?”_

_Alura reached her hand up to wipe away the tear, her charred hand brushing against the soft cheek despite the pain, “By being the hero I know you are, Young One.”_

_Kara let out a quiet sob as she felt the power coursing through her veins, her eyes flashing gold. Kara’s nails dug into the warm flesh of Alura’s back and she repressed another sob as the sticky blood trickled past her fingers and on to the ground. Clark watched on as the scarlet light fought the gold in Kara’s eyes and eventually his younger cousin had become stronger, faster, better. She had become the Alpha._

_Kara rose from the body, not daring to look back down at the burnt carcass of her mother. She turned back to the house, Clark following suit. He felt Kara slip her hand into his as the rain tried to quell the fire and he saw a tear roll down her cheek._

_Clark felt his stomach churn with disgust, the bile rising in his throat as he wondered who would do this to his family. And then he remembered that he’d helped end the life of Alura. Of his own flesh and blood._  
_But it was necessary. They had to do it. It was all they could do. Clark didn’t know if he believed it himself, but that’s what he told his cousin. They couldn’t save everyone. And his family’s deaths would forever be in his subconscious._

His surviving family were just him and Kara. The first year after the fire had been hard; the whisperings they heard in the streets, the constant paranoia that Lex would come and finish the job. The one time Lex _had_ tried to re-enter National City they had banned him. That was a couple years ago, and the Pack had only gotten stronger.  
They had built up the Pack from next to nothing, with Kara turning both James and Alex. For that, Clark was grateful. He was grateful for his new family, though he knew they wouldn’t replace his real family.

Clark lifted his head from his hands when he felt a warm palm on his shoulder. He grabbed on to it, caressing the soft fingers, thankful for the tether back to reality.

"You have to move on, Clark," James's smooth voice cut through the nightmare, "They've been gone for two years."

“I’m trying. Just, every time I close my eyes I’m back there. Frozen from the fear,” Clark explained, exhaling when he felt smooth fingers rub his knuckles, “I see my aunt die in front of me again and again and I can’t make it stop.”

“I have some news on that front, actually,” James leant against the desk, checking around the Precinct to make sure no one was watching them. He let a soft smile grow on his face while Clark waited with baited breath, “Lex Luthor is back in National City. A C.I. of mine told me.”

Clark continued to stare at him until his brow formed into a tight crease, “Why’s that a good thing?” He whispered, trying but failing to keep the anger out of his voice, “He killed my family, J.”

“I know,” James held his hands up to stop his friend from spiralling out of control, “And Kara banned him from coming back. He’s violating the agreement.”

“So we can attack him,” Clark connected the dots in his mind. They would finally be able to punish Lex for his actions. He stared up at his friend’s chocolate eyes that seemed to melt when they were around each other, “I could kiss you right now.” As soon as the words left his mouth Clark’s nose flared with panic.

James, however, merely laughed at the statement and Clark rolled his eyes at himself. Yeah, it was a joke. So what if there may have been some truth in it? It was a joke.

 

* * *

 

Kara shouldered her bag again after she got off her bike, hurrying to school with excitement bubbling in her chest as she wondered who would be in her class.

As a sophomore, Kara already knew the ropes, but the school often took in new student. She needed to make new friends this term; Eliza, the Pack’s ‘mother’ and Alex’s actual mom, had advised her that having just one friend wasn’t enough. So she needed to begin the quest of finding new friends.  
That was easier said than done. She needed someone she could depend on without them knowing her supernatural secret, but if the time came, they wouldn’t tell anyone. It was a hard balance to get right, and that was why Kara only had one friend besides those in her Pack.

Finding her English Lit class easily, she slipped in and greeted Ms Cat Grant.

“Kiera. You’re early, what a surprise,” Ms Grant said in the monotone voice the blonde had learned to endure. She had also learnt to endure the nickname, though she knew Ms Grant knew her name. She was the smartest in the class, after all.

“Ms Grant,” She nodded. Letting the curiosity get the better of her, she spoke up again as she sat down at the back of the class, “Got any new students?”

“Why do you care?” Cat raised her eyebrow from behind her desk, looking like a damn Queen.

“Just,” She shrugged indifferently.

“Kara Zor-El.” A shorter girl of a similar age called her from the doorway, a frown set on her face. Her chestnut curls bounced as she skipped over to her best friend.

“Hey Lucy!” Kara greeted her with a hug that wasn’t reciprocated. She pulled back, noticing Lucy’s scowl, “What’s wrong?”

“I don’t see you for the summer and you turn into a frickin’ runway model?!” Lucy crossed her arms over her chest, determined to keep up her façade of anger. She failed when she saw Kara’s pout.

“Shut up,” Kara knocked her on the shoulder playfully and Lucy threw a right hook towards her face, which the wolf blocked with ease, “And you, apparently, turn into a ninja.”

“Dad’s got me training with his boxing coaches again,” Lucy wiggled her eyebrows. The brunette had always wanted to be stronger, that’s why she had sort of joined Kara’s Pack, without having the skills of a werewolf. But Lucy was strong enough and clever enough as a human.

They heard Miss Grant clicking her fingers in the background, “Girls, if I wanted to see a boxing match I would have taken Mike Tyson out on that date he asked me to a millennia ago.”

The two smiled at each other, knowing full-well that their teacher hadn’t met half of the people she said she had.

The room started filling with students, the soft hustle of life lighting up the otherwise dreary classroom. Kara loved that about school; she loved the liveliness and calm that came with being a student. She wasn't different here, she wasn't forced to protect her family from and every threat.

"New students, at the front," Ms Grant commanded which prompted two girls, one raven-haired and one blonde to walk to the front of the room, “Introduce yourselves; take no longer than 10 seconds each.”

The black-haired girl spoke first, and Kara tilted her head slightly, watching as her eyes darted quickly around the room and then returned to the floor. But not before they landed on Kara. The wolf swore her heart skipped a beat when green met blue, Lena’s eyes lingering before continuing their scan.  
It took all of Kara’s willpower not to jump in her seat when she recognised the girl.

She waved awkwardly but smiled coyly, with an air of self-confidence, “Hey, I’m Lena Luthor. My family just moved from Gotham City.”

The clues started to add up in Kara’s mind while she stared at the other girl – the wolf inside her thinking Lena was a Hunter, the family moving from Gotham, her _last name._ She was Lex Luthor’s younger sister. The man who killed her family.

She clenched her jaw and her eyes fixated to the floor. If she had looked up her classmates would have seen her eyes flashing crimson with rage.  
She felt someone take her hand under the desk and turned to see Lucy smiling sympathetically at her. The Alpha forced a smile too.  
It felt good to trust someone human, especially since Lucy was being trained by her father, an Army General. She was skilled in hand-to-hand combat, as well as advanced weaponry. Lucy knew all about the El Fire, all about Sam.

Kara couldn’t help it when her eyes tracked the Hunter as she dodged the bags on the floor with a nimble agility. She didn’t understand why she was so fixated on her. It must be because of the fire. Yes. That was it. It wasn’t that Lena was the most stunning woman she’d ever seen, or that the memory of their first encounter had been seared into her brain.

“Is anyone sitting here?” Lena asked and she looked up to see the Alpha staring back at her, “It’s Kara, right?”

In the morning light there was something powerful about the teen in front of her. The bright sunshine illuminated Lena’s wavy black locks, her emerald eyes shining with a sense of familiarity. Lena was a vision, and Kara couldn’t wait to get to know her.

Kara nodded, still in quite a daze, “Yeah. Uh, yeah, it’s all you. I mean, all yours. It’s totally vacant.” So _that’s_ what people meant when they said they wanted to be swallowed up by the ground.

Lena grinned, lighting up her whole face. In that moment, Kara was reminded not to judge people by the mistakes of their family. The wolf blushed and buried herself in her book.

“Real smooth, Zor-El,” Lucy flicked her thumb up, a mocking smile tugging at her lips.

Kara threw a light punch at her best friend, which Lucy dodged skilfully.  
Kara turned her attention back to the Hunter. _Gods_ , in all her regal beauty there was no way Lena helped set the fire. It couldn’t be. She decided to get to know Lena more before she told her Pack about the possible threat.

"Just give her a chance,” Lucy said, linking their arms together as soon as the lesson ended.

"Why should I? Her family murdered mine," Kara grated her teeth as she swung open her locker to put her books back. But she glanced at the family photo she kept stuck to the side of her locker, her eyes softening as they ran over the youthful features of her family. She turned back to Lucy, "But she does deserve a chance. She might not be evil."

"You never know, she could be useful,” Lucy slammed her locker door shut and leaned her back on it, studying her friend's face.

"Yeah,” Kara agreed, wanting to end the conversation there. Lucy read her cues like an expert and linked their arms together again, pulling them towards their table in the far corner closest to the food. Lucy stopped, noticing a taller pale-skinned girl already sitting in their area.  
Lucy scoffed and was about to go off at her when she realised who she was. Grinning widely at Kara, she realised her best friend hadn't noticed yet.

"New girl!" Lucy shouted, feeling both girls’ heads whip in her direction. She winked at Kara, who's eyes had widened almost comically, before dragging them the rest of the way to the table.

"Lena,” Kara greeted her, trying to keep her features kind despite the inner turmoil in her stomach.

“You again,” The Hunter's eyes twinkled with something beautiful as she smiled up at the taller girl, “I just can’t seem to get away from you.” There was humour in her voice and Kara couldn’t help but smile.

“Not my fault you hang out at all the cool places,” Kara didn’t realise where her sudden boldness came from and didn’t care when Lena raised a perfectly sculpted eyebrow in response.

“I don’t have a guide yet, but I’m sure I’ll figure out where the nerdy kids hang out eventually.”

“Nerdy kids hang out in this corner, actually,” Lucy responded, jabbing her thumb in the she-wolf’s direction, “She’s a nerd in everything she does – Art, English, Lacrosse, you name it and Kara will have done it.” Lucy grinned at her best friend as she hyped her up to the potential love interest. She wasn’t blind, Lena was _hot_ but Kara seemed transfixed with her already.

“Lacrosse?” Lena raised her eyebrow and gave Kara a quick once-over, making the blonde’s squirm in her seat.

“We’re co-captains. It’s not a big deal,” Kara brushed the statement off but Lucy waved her hand before placing it on Kara’s arm, subtly squeezing it.

“It’s totally a big deal, lacrosse is our school’s sport.”

Kara glared at Lucy but smiled when Lena looked impressed.

“Wow, you guys seem pretty cool,” Lena laughed, her eyes catching on Kara’s and for the second time that day the Hunter wanted to get lost in the sea of blue.

"So where are you from again?" Lucy asked, tearing Lena's eyes away from the wolf. She leaned across the table to grab a plate of chips for Kara.

Lena blinked back to the present and saw the brunette looking at her expectantly. _Stop daydreaming. Be alert._ The voice of her mother resonated through her mind, "Gotham. Gotham City." Lena subtly shook her head, "We move around a lot.”

"That must have been hard," Kara commented as she leaned her elbow on the table, cradling her face in her palm as she stared into Lena's eyes. It was impossible for the wolf not to; she couldn't decide what colour they were. To the wolf they looked turquoise, to the human they looked emerald. It was a mystery. _She_ was a mystery.

"Yeah, but it was necessary. For my father's job,” Lena shrugged softly, the smile on her lips not quite reaching her eyes.

It was dangerous. It was exciting. The thrill of the mystery, of the intrigue. Kara knew she shouldn't want this human, this Hunter, but she did. And that admission scared her to no end. She was a werewolf, damn it, she had faced the threat of many Hunters, she had single-handedly raised a powerful Pack, she shouldn’t be afraid of these feelings. But she was.  
The problem with Kara was that she wore her heart on her sleeve, her emotions readily took over her face. That’s how Lena realised the blonde was angry earlier, or scared now. It was also how Lucy knew to step in.

Lucy picked up on Kara's silence and reached over to steal a chip from the blonde's plate, "You should come to the school party at my beach house. It's kind of like a mixer. It'll help you get to know everyone."

"That sounds perfect, actually,” Lena responded, her eyes flicking to Kara.

To the blonde’s surprise, she didn’t feel angry at the Hunter, nor at the fact that Lucy had invited her to the mixer. And Kara did want to get to know Lena more before making a judgement on her character, though somewhere in the back of her mind already knew the decision.

 

* * *

 

Eliza Danvers’ house gave them a welcomed reprieve from the cold and James gratefully took the hot cocoa offered to him by the old woman. They had mostly been sleeping in the coyote den but Kara had deemed it too cold for their human sides. If they’d stayed out in the wild, the wolf side might take over completely.

So there they sat, snuggled up to their Alpha with a surprising amount of comfort seeing as they had only been a Pack for a couple of years. It felt like they were a family. Lucy had come over from next door too and was already asleep on the other sofa.

“Lex Luthor’s back in National City,” Clark said from the doorway as he leaned a shoulder on the doorframe, “He’s going to come after us again.”

“Then we beat him again,” Kara stated, “Come on." She patted the space next to her on the sofa, allowing her Pack to snuggle up beside each other, "Whatever the threat is, if it's real or not, we'll deal with it. We always have."

“What if we can’t?” Alex asked, grabbing the blanket from her mother to lay it on her Alpha.

The blonde smiled gratefully, “We will.” A fleeting thought of working with Lena to take down Lex from the inside sprinted through her mind, but she dismissed it with a smile to her Pack as Alex nudged Clark out of her space.

Kara wrapped her arms around Alex's and James' shoulders, letting them rest their heads on her chest, Clark snuggling up next to James.

“Goodnight, my children.” Eliza whispered as she kissed each of them on the forehead.

They all ended up sleeping save from Kara and Clark and the Alpha took a moment to breathe it all in. She could see the shimmering outline of her mother standing at the door. She knew she imagined it, knew there was no way her mother could have survived the fire. Alura smiled down softly at her, tears in her eyes at the strong Pack she created.

 _"You've done well, Young One."_ Alura nodded at the way Kara was in the middle of the pile, looking content.

Kara tried not to choke on the emotions that bubbled up in her chest at the sight, but she shut her eyes tightly, begging the mirage to stay. For Alura to tell her what to do, show her how to look after her Pack.  
But predictably, when Kara glanced back at the doorway, Alura had disappeared, just a figment of her imagination.

Kara gulped down her tears and tried to keep her breathing steady as to not wake her Pack, but she felt Clark squeeze her arm comfortingly.

“Alura would be so proud of us,” Clark blinked back his own tears as he rubbed the Alpha’s arm.

She nuzzled her nose into Alex's hair to calm herself down. She was safe. They were safe. Everyone was safe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lucy would be the best wingwoman


	3. Yearning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay this was real fun to write so I hope y'all enjoy p.s. I was listening to Calling (Lose My Mind) - Sebastian Ingrosso whilst writing the party bit if you wanna listen to it too I highly recommend

The wolf waited in the harsh shadows cast by the sunlight on the pine as she watched Lena set up another arrow. She'd been watching from a safe distance for what felt like days, but it had only actually been a few hours; Kara always found she lost time when it came to this Hunter. She had told her family about the possible threat, Alex had mentioned her becoming fixated on the Hunter once or twice.

As Lena let another arrow fly towards the wooden target, Kara wondered if this was true. She couldn't deny there was something in the lingering looks and as Lucy so graciously put it, ‘eye-sex’.

The wolf smiled proudly (to an observer it would have looked like a sneer) when the arrow landed in the centre of the target, as it had many times in the past few hours.

Kara saw the human gather her arrows from the board and make her way back towards the house, probably to get ready for the school mixer. Kara screwed her eyes shut as she remembered the memories that came with the House of El. She couldn't afford to be weak, not any more. It had been nearly two years since the fire, she needed to get over it. But, if she listened closely, she could still hear the echo of her family's screams bouncing off the walls of the house as she rushed in, finding her mother and sprinting out of there without a second thought.  
The guilt gnawed at her as she wondered why she hadn't saved the rest of her family. She was selfish. She had wanted the power to become an Alpha, every beta had, but not at the cost of her mother’s life.

The wolf took in a shaky breath to calm her nerves, but as she opened her eyes again, all she saw was Lena – the familiar raven hair in a loose bun, the sweat clinging to her skin, the light floral scent that happened to linger in the air around her.

She’d tried to put a label on her feelings, tried to categorise them, make sense of them. So far she had ruled out mere obsession – it wasn’t like she couldn’t breathe without Lena – and infatuation – that made her feelings seem mundane. In the end, she was more confused than before. She didn’t recognise her emotions.

The Hunter was approaching her, a beaming smile on her face as she came bounding over. The wolf was more reluctant though and she contemplated running, just sprinting out across the Preserve and straight to the comfort of her Pack.

When Lena leant down, though, all of Kara’s fears seemed to melt away. It was just the two of them in the Preserve. Nothing else mattered; not their families, not that Kara wasn’t entirely human, and certainly not that they had only just met.

"Hey," Lena spoke cheerfully, grinning down at her as beads of sweat rolled down her face, Kara tracking the movement, “It’s nice to see you again.”

The Alpha’s eyes fluttered closed at the contact of Lena’s hand on her head and she began to feel lightheaded, knowing that an increased heartrate could trigger a shift.  
Kara could feel the transformation before it started happening, and she ducked her head. A part of her wanted to throw caution to the wind and embrace her supernatural side, hesitance be damned. But, as her scarlet eyes were invaded by their natural blue, Kara remembered the risks associated with it.

She turned her head away from the human, putting some distance between them. She took one last look at the old House of El and refused to allow the memories back; she was stronger than that.

“Stay, please. Just for a bit longer,” Lena tried desperately. The wolf whined and noticed her fur becoming lighter, the unmistakable sign of a shift.

She needed to get away before she lost all semblance of control. She hoped her tilted head and soft mewls indicated the urgency of the situation. Lena smiled down at her while she dusted the dirt off her pants, apparently understanding the wolf.

"I would invite you in," Lena gestured at the house behind her, "but I'm not sure my parents would be very happy having to care for a stray animal. Especially not one who stole my coat.”

If the wolf could laugh, she would have. But her paws started tingling and she was reminded yet again of the urgency of the situation.  
With a nudge of her head on Lena's leg, she turned and left. She listened for the rustle of leaves behind her which indicated Lena too had left. When she was a safe distance away from prying eyes, she turned back into a human, and it allowed her to smile properly without restraint. Kara ran her fingers through her knotted hair and sighed at the emotions she was feeling – desire, a need to tell Lena her secret, and something else which neither the wolf or the human could place. She decided she liked the feeling though; it was like a churning in her stomach, not entirely unpleasant, although she didn’t want to dwell on what it meant.

 

* * *

 

The sky above was suffused with a warm orange sunglow, light pouring down through the clouds on to the harsh lines of Lucy's beach house. Kara yanked at the tight tank top Alex had instructed her to wear along with equally tight boyfriend jeans and made her way into the house – apparently the jeans and top accentuated her muscles; Kara was in no state to argue.  
Seeing the House of El repaired to its former glory earlier in the day just reminded her of what they used to have, of the family they used to be. The El Pack used to be the strongest and most feared, but then Sam happened. She still remembered having to bury the wolf's body at the bottom of her old shack. She remembered being told to bind Sam’s hands in wolf’s bane to keep her from healing.  
The memories came flooding back to the werewolf; the blood, the fury in Sam's eyes, the terror in the woman's.

_"Sam, please. We can talk about this," Kara screamed at the Beta, begging her to let go of the frightened woman in her arms._

_"The time for talking is over,” Sam shouted back as her eyes glowed with golden anger, digging her claws into the woman's side, making her yelp in pain while the scarlet blood dripped down on to the floor of the Preserve, "Hunters are ruling our lives, making us live in fear. They won't hesitate to kill us."_

_Alura let her eyes flash red, almost the colour of the blood, to calm her Beta down. It wasn't working, and Kara dropped down on to all fours and let out a frustrated growl, "We can't sink to their level. We can't become what they make us out to be."_

_"Why not?" Sam threw the body of her last victim to the ground, the old woman landing in a heap on the wet ground. The scent of the blood mixed with the rain from the day before assaulted Kara's nostrils and it took everything in her not to gag. The blonde glanced over to Alura, who nodded her head. That meant she was allowed to use whatever force necessary to bring Sam down._

_The woman tried to move away but Sam slashed at her and left a large gash on her back. Kara growled again when she saw Sam smirk at the whimpering victim.  
Kara rose to her full height as a human and flicked her nails out, the little spikes shining dimly. Sam's head whipped up at the danger and she shifted into a wolf, clawing at the ground to threaten the two wolves, but they were unfazed and stood their ground._

_"Stop,” Kara all but barked the order but Sam wouldn't listen. She wanted to reach a diplomatic solution; she’d never taken a life before._

_But Sam had attacked her. And Kara had accidentally left her claws out. She didn’t mean to do it. She loved Sam like a sister._

_Kara cradled her head in her hands as the blood of the other Beta seeped into the fallen leaves on the ground. The woman was dead too, both of their deaths were Kara’s fault. Not even Alura’s hand on her shoulder could offer her the solace she needed._

The she-wolf took a couple of steadying breaths, her eyes flicking around the living room to check for her friends, seeing Alex and Lucy playing beer pong in another room.

Instead of intruding on their fun, Kara decided to stick next to the wall, leaning her back on it as she took a long swig of whatever cheap beer Lucy had supplied them with. Luckily, or unluckily, alcohol didn’t impact werewolves as it did humans. It was true that werewolves had a faster metabolism and were therefore able to process their drink faster, but she was still able to get drunk.

The wolf smiled when she felt another’s presence next to her against the wall. She tilted her head to the side and her smile turned brighter when she realised it was Lena, who was dressed in a casual dress that cut off just above her knees.  
The shorter girl smiled back before ducking her head with a shy blush dusted on her cheeks.

“Sorry, I don’t know anyone else, haven’t really had the chance to make any friends,” Lena apologised over the sound of the dance music, “I’ll leave if you want me to.”

“Not at all,” Kara reassured her with a shake of her head. She touched her finger to the other girl’s cheek, coercing Lena’s gaze back up to her own, only now noticing the smoky eyeshadow around the Hunter’s eyes. It made her emerald orbs pop with even more colour and it also made Kara’s breath hitch in her throat at the beauty, “I hope to consider us friends.”

“Same here,” She replied almost breathlessly.

Kara smirked at her companion’s stuttering heartbeat. She gestured to the dance floor, where at least a dozen teens danced the night away, others deciding to watch the beer pong or chat outside; it was a mixer, after all.

“Do you wanna dance?” Kara asked, offering her hand to the other girl while she downed the rest of her drink.

Lena’s eyes widened and she shook her head furiously, “I don’t dance.”

“Come on! It’s just moving to a beat!” Kara shouted over the music, running her hands down Lena’s arms to grab both of her hands, gently but insistently persuading her to the middle of the room, weaving in and out of sweaty bodies.

Lena glared at her when they reached the middle and she folded her arms over her chest, determined not to enjoy a single moment of the dancing.  
But when Kara ran her fingers through the blonde locks and started to move her hips, Lena was immediately mesmerised.  
Her movements flowed with a dazzling grace that all but took the Hunter’s breath away. Her arms fell limply to her side as Kara’s eyes locked on to her own and Lena wanted nothing more than to wipe the alluring smile off the blonde’s lips with a searing kiss.  
No, wait, no. She didn’t want to kiss Kara, they had only just met!

Kara threw her head back with a hearty laugh when she saw Lena’s rigid posture, “Loosen up a little.” She held on to the other girl’s hands again and shook the tension out, “Now rest your arms around my neck and I’m gonna put my hands on your hips, is that okay?”

“Sure,” Lena rolled her eyes with a smile; apparently all a pretty girl had to do was ask and she was ready to do whatever.

They started to move as a unit, the Hunter becoming more relaxed as they swayed to the stupidly heavy beat of the song.  
She looked up into Kara’s eyes, which had become a hazy midnight blue. They made her want to be extraordinary, made her want to be the best version of herself.

Apparently her face had been showing her daydreaming because Kara was frowning, trying to snap her out of it, “Are you okay?”

“I’m sorry. I’m just not used to people being so kind,” Lena ducked her head again, before leaning it gently on the blonde’s shoulder, her cheek landing on the bare skin there.

The overwhelming scent of Lena’s rose perfume inhibited Kara’s senses almost as much as the music had, making her mind turn fuzzy and her stomach churn with that strange feeling again.

The wolf tried to repress a shudder at the skin-contact and she shut her eyes, hoping her heartrate hadn’t spiked enough to cause a shift.  
But Kara wanted to tell Lena about her supernatural qualities. Lena had already proved herself to be a skilled marksman, who knew how to use a bow and arrow. And having someone on the inside might be good if Lex ever showed his ugly head again.

Lena leaned back so that she was looking into the wolf’s eyes. Just looking. Admiring.

Of course over her life Lena had thought of many things as beautiful - the sun catching the metal of an arrowhead, the cold breeze when she went for a run, the night sky dotted with hundreds of thousands of stars.

But nothing compared to Kara Zor-El. Beauty was something she had to define and redefine everytime she met Kara's gaze or heard the soft lilt of her laugh. And she wouldn't have it any other way.

The mirage broke when Lucy swung an arm around Kara’s shoulder. Lena retracted her own hands as if she’d been burnt.

The Hunter took a couple of steps back and smiled weakly at Lucy, who clung to Kara’s shoulders with an empty shot glass in her hand. Her skin was slick with sweat and her cheeks were rosy, eyes not fully opening, all leading Kara to believe she was drunk.

“You guys’re cute,” Lucy slurred the words, almost falling on top of Kara as she swayed, “I have a free room if you wanna get it on, ya’know.”

“I think we’ll pass,” Kara grinned; seeing her friend like this was usually her favourite part of the night, but she did want to get Lucy either asleep or sobered up before she did anything she’d regret. Besides, she and Lena had just started bonding. She glanced at Lena and then back at the girl in her arms, “Do you mind if I get her to bed?”

“Sure,” Lena shrugged.

Kara thought there was something off about her demeanour but she could tell by Lucy’s erratic heartbeat and shallow breathing that she was either going to pass out or vomit everywhere.  
So Kara slipped her arm around Lucy’s waist and carried her upstairs and into her room, laying her softly on the bed.

She grabbed a glass from the bathroom and filled it with water placing it next to her friend.

“I swear, if you don’t make a move imma murder you,” Lucy whispered groggily into her pillow.

Kara grinned, shaking her head. She kissed Lucy on the forehead, “Get some sleep, Luce.”

Kara all but sprinted to find Lena, but not before she went next door to Eliza’s house to get something.

 

* * *

 

Lena sighed as she stepped across the wet sand near the waterline on the beach, running her fingers through her hair, knowing the sea-water would turn her hair into tight ringlets. She swung her heels by the straps, content in just listening to the crash of waves lit up by the twilight sky.

She sat down in the sand, not caring about her dress. She was enjoying the silence; it allowed her to think properly. About Kara, about her future career as a Hunter.  
She knew she wanted to help innocent people, but she also wanted to help innocent werewolves. That meant going against her family, but she didn’t think they’d care. Her parents only cared about Lex, about his mistakes, they wouldn’t care if Lena helped the enemy once in a while.

Lena heard the crunch of sand over the sound of the calming waves, but she didn't bother to get up when she saw Kara sit down next to her. Lena smiled at the other girl, bumping their shoulders together as a greeting.

"I'm sorry, I didn't want anyone to take advantage of Lucy," Kara whispered, barely disrupting the tranquil air.

"No, I understand. You're a good friend,” Lena responded, turning around to see Kara cradling a coat in her arms, "What's that?"

Kara chewed the inside of her cheek, “Motivation.”

Lena raised her eyebrow, humour in her voice, “What for?"

She saw Kara hesitate, saw the turmoil swirling around dangerously in her eyes. Lena wanted to reach out, grab her hand and say everything was alright, no matter what the situation.  
But she didn't. Instead, she tilted her head to the side, watching the reflection of the pale moon on the water dance across Kara's features.

Suddenly, Kara's eyes flashed a vulnerable crimson; they were like lights on the dimly lit beach. Kara frowned, and the skin there started to harden until the frown disappeared into fur.  
Lena couldn't help the gasp that escaped her as the clues added up in her mind.

"You're the wolf," Lena's voice sounded hoarse. She was probably scared, Kara reasoned, blinking her eyes back to their normal shade and she shifted back into a human.

"You're a Hunter," Kara went on the defensive. But then she looked at Lena and knew there was no reason to be afraid.

As the waves tickled their feet, there was a mutual understanding born – they wouldn't hurt each other. It didn’t matter that their families were enemies, they wouldn't hurt each other.

"Are you scared?" Kara asked.

"Not right now,” Lena shook her head, tentatively bringing her hand up to tuck a stray strand of hair behind the blonde's ear, "Everything actually makes sense now."

"What do you mean?" The she-wolf asked, relaxing back on to her hands, letting the water wash over her feet.

Lena laughed to herself, and the blonde thought it was the most magical sound she'd heard in a long time, she couldn't help but smile along.

"I thought I was crazy that first day, thinking I'd seen a wolf. And then again when the wolf had the same eyes as this _weirdo_ from school."

"Hey!" Lena laughed as Kara struck her chest with her hand, feigning hurt.

"I'm glad you told me."

"So am I," She responded, offering her hand, palm up, to the other girl, "I'm surprised at how well you're taking this, by the way."

Lena slapped their hands together, intertwining their fingers tightly. She held Kara's hand to her chest and replied, "I have the emotional range of Medea, you'll never surprise me."

Kara let out a bark of laughter, throwing her head back, landing backwards on to the sand, "Okay, if you say so."

"I do say so."

They leaned back so that the two were lying on the warm sand, their interlocked hands between them.  
Kara breathed the moment in – their mutually increasing heartrates, the warm feeling in her tightening chest, the fading music somewhere behind them. It felt so peaceful.

"So..." Kara whispered, scared to break the calm air as she turned over in the sand, facing her body towards Lena.

"So," The Hunter did the same, their faces inches apart.

Kara reached behind her and tossed the coat at Lena, sand flying everywhere as Lena gaped, her eyes twinkling with mischief.

"That was rude,” Lena said, cupping sand into her hands and throwing it at Kara's grinning face.

The sand hit her chest and Kara's eyes widened with shock at the attack, "Hey! Meanie!"

"That's just my Luthor genes shining through," Lena responded, a flash of vulnerability sprinting through her eyes. She didn't turn away, though, instead choosing to stare directly into the wolf's eyes, allowing Kara to see her at her weakest.

"I have a favour to ask,” Kara leaned her head on her hand, still staring at the beauty that was Lena.

"Anything,” Lena said. She was sure that whatever Kara said next she would agree to. Pretty girls and favours, Lena thought to herself as she sat up again.

However, whatever Kara said next was drowned out by the angry blood pumping in her ears. Her posture turned rigid and she clamped her jaw shut, her eyes fixated on something in the distance.

Kara frowned at the change in demeanour, and she turned around too, scowling when she saw him. He was dressed in a tight blue suit, a charming smile tugging at his lips while he scanned the area. The dim light of the moon illuminated the hard contours of his jaw and cheek bones, his bald head shining almost comically. But Kara was not amused as she let out a low rumble from within her throat.  
His plastic face turned to the two girls, his self-righteous smile morphing into a tight-lipped one at the sight of his sister with his enemy.

"Lex?" Lena breathed out the name, the single noun sounding like poison to Kara.

The threat had become undoubtedly more serious.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What is a supercorp fic without any Lex Luthor drama??


	4. Brotherly Love

“What are you doing here?" Kara sneered at the older man, feeling Lena hide behind her shoulder as they stood up, “How did you find us?”

"Do you know who she is, Lena?" Lex shouted over the faint music from the party behind them, completely ignoring the Alpha, "Do you know what her Pack did to our family?"

"It wasn't my Pack,” Kara said, her gaze flicking guiltily between the two siblings, but she kept her voice strong, unwavering.

"Samantha Arias was your responsibility!" Lex screamed, his voice breaking with emotion as he stared at his younger sister, "Sam killed your birth mother. That's why I set the fire."

"No,” Lena spoke for the first time, the word spilling out of her mouth, "No, Kara's Pack is good. She didn't make you set the fire. You did that on your own." She didn't know for certain, but Kara was their Alpha, and she trusted her.

"I did it for you, my dear sister. I did it for you,” Lex said, his eyes softening when Lena stepped out from behind Kara's shadow.

"I didn't ask for this,” The Hunter clenched her jaw, anger coursing through her blood, "Stop making excuses for your actions."

Lex's features flared with exasperation. With chagrin, he realised Lena either didn’t believe him or was still angry with him. Either way, he had lost his younger sister to Kara.  
Lena let out a gasp when Lex grabbed her by the hair, wrapping his hand around her throat, getting a gun from behind his back and aiming it at his sister.

"I'm sorry, Lena. But you're one of them now," Lex whispered into her ear, watching as Kara howled, stepping closer to them. Lex clicked the safety off, "Don't move. Or I shoot Lena."

"You wouldn't," Lena choked out, her mind clouding with disbelief.

"You won't," a strong voice cut through the tension and Alex stood there, her nails out, jaw slack and dotted with sharp teeth.

Next to Alex stood Clark, whose eyes glowed gold, ready to fight. Lena watched as the powerful Pack stood their ground despite her obvious fear.

Kara smiled victoriously as she thanked whatever Gods there were that most of her Pack got her distress signal.

Lex's eyes darted around as he noticed he was surrounded. Lena took advantage of the split second of panic and stepped on her brother's toes, simultaneously jabbing an elbow into his throat. Lex let her go with a spluttering gasp, and she ran into Kara's awaiting arms.

“You’ve disobeyed the agreement by coming back to National City,” Kara boomed despite the crying girl in her arms, “We will come after you.”

“Promises, promises.” Lex shot back, “I’ll be ready for you. Make no mistake – this is war.”

Lena tried to control her breathing while Kara hugged her, feeling the blonde’s hand cradling the back of her head softly, but the panic flared up again when Lex smiled at them, and then he stared up at the moon. It was the full moon in a couple days. Lex was going to use that, when their bloodlust was at its peak, to show they were savages.

"You chose the wrong side, Lena." Lex purred her name and it made the younger Hunter's skin crawl and she buried herself in Kara’s chest again. He stood, brushing past the other wolves with an unbridled confidence.

Kara shook her head when Clark huffed at her in question. They should let him go. He hadn't attacked the Pack, just a civilian. The Alpha squeezed the shaking girl tighter in her arms and for a split second contemplated violence.  
It was a bad idea, though. Every Hunting family would attack them, and Kara was still learning how to be an adequate Alpha, they couldn’t afford the threat.

"We should have killed him," Clark roared in annoyance, frowning at his younger cousin, "You’re weak for not letting us attack."

"And you forget your place," Kara flashed her eyes scarlet to stop the argument, satisfied when Clark bowed his head slightly as he looked down at the sand. The Alpha nudged Lena's head up for the second time that night, "Do you have somewhere safe to stay? I can get you sorted with a room if you want."

"No, I'm okay," Lena's reddened eyes betrayed her statement though, but she squirmed out of Kara's protective embrace, immediately feeling less safe. She was too proud to admit that though. She needed to prove her strength. She needed to be stronger.

"Are you sure? We can't protect you if you go back home," Kara tried to convince her stay, to accept the Pack's protection.

"I can protect myself," Lena said, jutting her chin up in a supposedly confident stance, exposed by the remnants of tears in her eyes and the makeup running down her cheeks that left angry black scars revealing the truth.

"I don't doubt that," Kara replied warmly, putting her hand on Lena's shoulder, "But if Lex comes after you, he's not going to go easy. We, as a Pack, are better equipped for something like this. We've beaten him before, we can do it again. And we would be honoured if you joined the Pack.”

"I can't be a part of this Pack, though," Lena said, gesturing at the werewolves, "I don't have a place here." She didn't want to be part of the Pack, she was just there to help them and get out. Move on to help a different Pack.

"Lucy's human and she's part of our Pack," Alex spoke softly, approaching the pair calmly, "We'll welcome you with open arms, I promise."

Lena's eyes flicked to Clark, who had his arms crossed over his chest.  
Helping the Pack was one thing, but _joining_ the Pack, well, the Hunters would disown her family on the spot.  
Although she wanted the help of Kara's Pack, she knew that disobeying her family would come with serious implications. Lena stopped herself from rolling her eyes; her family was also trying to kill her, and the only people wanting to protect her was the Pack.

"What do I need to do to get into your Pack?" Lena asked, turning to the Alpha.

Kara smiled in victory, "Nothing. Just stay loyal and trust me."

"I can do that." Lena smiled back, a little more reserved though, "I have one question – did you know the woman who died was my mother?"

Kara shook her head, "No. I didn't know. To my knowledge, it was civilian who was killed." She took Lena's hands gingerly, "I don’t intend on keeping secrets from you."

"Neither do I," Lena replied, getting lost in the blue of her eyes for a moment before Kara smiled again softly, letting go of her hands.

The rest of the Pack introduced themselves, and Kara watched as Lena and Alex started speaking, Clark hanging back still with his arms crossed over his chest.

“I don’t think this is a good idea.” Clark said softly, trying to make his Alpha understand the risks of letting a Hunter into their Pack. She was a sheep in wolf’s clothing.

“Your opinion is noted.” Kara responded, fully intending to ignore his opinion.

It was understandable why Clark was wary; Lena's family had murdered their family. But once Clark got to know her properly, he would understand.

"I should get home," Lena said.

“Again, we can’t protect you if you go back home.”

“ _Again_ , I’ll be fine,” Lena’s eyebrow raised defiantly.

Kara eyed her curiously but didn’t comment further; she knew Lena could fight, she’d seen her first-hand with a bow and arrow, but it didn’t stop the worry blossoming in her chest as fleeting images of Lena dying rushed through her mind - the knife stabbed into Lena's stomach, the Hunter bleeding out in her arms, the Alpha not being able to take her pain.  
She couldn’t think like that, though. She had to have faith in Lena’s abilities as a Hunter. And she did, Lena was powerful, it wasn't like she was just an incompetent human. Nevertheless, the remnants of the images didn’t leave her mind.

“Come on, Lena. At least think about it; strength in numbers and all that.” Alex tried again.

“I’ve thought about it, trust me.” Lena started moving back across the sand in the direction of her house and Kara nodded to herself.

"Just let her go." The blonde whispered to herself, smiling reassuringly at her Pack when their heads flicked towards her in understanding.

 

* * *

 

As Clark rushed back to the Precinct, James reached his desk at the Precinct and dropped a hefty case file in front of his friend, a kind smile tugging at his lips. Clark's tired eyes and furrowed brows looked utterly adorable and James nearly forgot what he wanted to say. Almost.

"Where did you go, brother?" James questioned, noticing Clark's dreary expression.

"Lex turned up, annoyed everyone." Clark sighed, rubbing at his tired eyes, again making James hold in his adoring eyes, "Where were you?"

"I was finding your perp from the B&E case. You know, the one threatening your job," James spoke, opening the file and pointing at the picture of a man, "He confessed as soon as I confronted him."

"Wh—How?" Clark asked, riffling through the written record of the confession with awe on his face.

"You may be above a little _supernatural_ sleuthing," James muttered the word, conscious of the other officers around them despite the time of night, "But I am not. I tracked the robber’s scent and found him."

"Why isn't your name on this case report?" Clark asked, his eyebrow raising slightly.

James shrugged, his kind eyes shining in the mundane room of the Precinct, "I'd rather you kept this job."

"Thank you, brother." Clark clapped him on the back, but James wanted more. He wanted to kiss Clark, to reveal how he really felt.

And yet, all James did was smile again and walk back to his desk, burying his feelings again. He would tell Clark tomorrow.

 

* * *

 

Lena trudged slowly back the short way across the beach to the Preserve, and then towards her house. She had her coat draped over her shoulder, the weight offering her a small comfort in the chill of the piercing wind.  
The night continued to play on her mind and despite the shadows of darkness cast by the trees, Lena didn't feel scared.  
Even thinking about Kara had that effect on her. She wasn’t afraid of the dark, she wasn't afraid of her family, all she felt was content.

She was angry at her brother for threatening her life, of course she was. But she was also angry that he'd interrupted a moment between her and Kara. Who knows what would have happened if Lex hadn't turned up?  
All Lena knew for certain, was that she wouldn't have been opposed to a kiss from the werewolf. There was also _that_ minor problem of her being a goddamn _werewolf_ to consider, but Lena couldn't bring herself to care too much. Yes, it would get her in trouble with her parents but what else was new?

Her heels dug into the mud as it started raining and Lena sighed to herself. She steeled herself for the wrath of her parents when she saw the silhouette of the top of the House of El. There was no way they would have let her go to a party in the middle of the night, so Lena had done what any other freedom-seeking teenager would have done – she snuck out.

She paused, however, when she heard the rough voice of a man. She hid quickly behind the nearest tree, hugging it as she frowned, trying to place that voice.  
Then, as the waft of some far too expensive cologne drifted her way, Lena recognised it as the voice of her brother.

"--That Pack killed Sam, they killed _our_ opportunity for revenge." Lex shouted to a small gathering of people.  
Hunters.

“The night after the full moon we will attack. We won’t show mercy.”

Lena winced as she glanced around the corner, her eyes landing on a half dozen older men, all armed with rifles and throwing knives and wolf’s bane; she couldn't help it when her breath became shallow, a feeling of sickness forming in the pit of her stomach as she thought about Kara's Pack with their throats slashed.  
She clenched her jaw and slowed her breathing back down to something manageable. She exhaled slowly, trying to make sense of the snippet of information she heard.

Lena steeled herself as she toed at the ground, trying to back away slowly, as to not raise suspicions. She needed to get to Kara, she needed to tell her. She wanted to be a valuable part of the Pack, and this was her way. She would be strong for the Pack.  
That was her mistake – not thinking of the task at hand and letting her mind wander. A twig snapped under her foot and Lena held in a bitter laugh; she'd been caught snooping because she was slightly heavy-footed.  
How fitting.

There was a shushing behind her and she felt her muscles coil with anticipation. Was this what it felt like to be a werewolf?  
Her muscles started aching as she waited silently for someone to check the threat. She should have known that wasn’t what would have happened.  
_Shoot first; ask questions later._

When she heard the cocking of a gun, Lena swept into action. She bound across the land in search of her house but it was too dark. She dropped the coat on the ground and pumped her arms to break out into a speedy sprint.  
She wondered if Kara would hear her if she screamed, if she would even be listening.  
But she dismissed that thought when she ran through the Preserve. She would be strong enough on her own.

She heard shouting behind her but she couldn’t register the words while the adrenaline coursed through her body, her shallow breathing becoming quicker and more strained, until she was sure her heart would explode.  
She heard something land in a tree, skimming her head, but she didn’t stop to look at what it was.

She padded across the stream that flowed through Preserve and again, something brushed past her and she tracked it with her eyes, catching it before it hit another tree.  
A dagger. It looked to be laced with wolf’s bane.  
Lena pocketed it as she ran, acutely aware of the men a few places behind.  
She skidded to a stop as she reached a cliff’s edge. She heaved as she turned around in time to see the three Hunter’s stop too.

She took up a defensive stance; she wouldn’t be afraid anymore.

Holding the dagger precariously from her fingers, she stared the Hunters down, copying their movements, each daring the other to make a move.

One man leapt forward, slashing at her with another knife but Lena blocked his advances, kicking him square in the chest. He stumbled back and another taller man shot a gun at her. She dodged the bullet quickly and slapped his extended arm out of the way. He got in a lucky punch, hitting her square in the jaw.  
She groaned out loud, taking a moment to blink her eyes back open and focus herself again. God she wished she had her bow and arrow.

He came at her again with a swift kick but she was expecting it. She blocked it with ease and, when she got close enough, kneed him in the crotch.  
The man grabbed at her dress and he folded in on himself. Lena grabbed his head, bringing it down swiftly on to her knee, the thud of his body on the floor oddly satisfying. He collapsed on the floor, but not before ripping Lena’s dress.  
The final man who had followed her had been observing the other fights, he probably knew her fighting style.

She threw the knife in his direction but he caught it, dropping it calmly to the ground with a smirk that ran straight through her, making her gulp in fear.  
The first man who had fallen to the floor began to pick himself up again, and the two men approached her.

Lena shuffled herself backwards, but she heard the skimming of loose rocks on the floor. She looked behind herself to see the cliff’s edge.  
Turning back to the threat, she held up her arms, ready to fight again.

Suddenly, a sick feeling spread within her and she glanced in the direction of the source. She gaped at her brother, at his extended arm, at the gun in his hand.  
She looked down at her arm; at the soaked material of her coat, and then back up to Lex, the disbelief in her eyes morphing into pain as the adrenaline died down.  
She felt unsteady on her feet and her vision started to blur; she looked up at the sky, at the stars dotted around the tips of the trees. She thought she saw a raven fly above her, she knew she saw Lex hovering over her.

“Kar...” She released the name with a helpless sigh, her breath catching in her throat.

 _“Look at you, Lena. Begging for help,”_ Lillian smiled bitterly in her mind, _“Always begging for help. It’s pathetic.”_

Her life didn’t flash before her eyes and she didn’t see a light at the end of the tunnel.  
All she saw was blackness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hnnggg don't hate me (no one dies I promise)


	5. Distraction

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Angst is the devil's tool and by that statement I'm going to hell

Kara heard her name whispered from the Hunter's lips and knew something was wrong. She desperately tried to track the location, racking her memory for any distinguishing noises around the whisper.

She thought about her dream, about the fleeting images of Lena dying rushing through her mind. But she knew Lena was okay. She had to be. She had to be alive, she was strong enough.

The moon glistened in the sky above her, and she felt Alex shoot her a reassuring glance. Clark too was on lookout now, since his shift had nearly ended at the Precinct. She felt warmth in her chest as she silently thanked her cousin for seeing reason about Lena.

Kara sniffed the air, needing to catch the waft of the rose perfume she knew Lena wore.  
She leapt over the stream as she caught a whiff of blood, and the Pack followed obediently. They spotted the coat on the ground but didn’t pay it any attention.

There, on the cliff's edge, lay the Hunter. Kara rushed to her side, cradling her head to look for wounds. There was one gash on the side of her arm, but it didn't look life-threatening. Her dress was torn in various places and it looked battered, bruised, much like its wearer. There was a small stain of blood on the floor but the Alpha didn't want to think about it.

"Lena!" Kara shouted, trying to wake her up. She stared at the stationary girl, whose dress was disfigured from the rain and the earth.

Even like this, Lena was the most beautiful person she'd ever laid her eyes on it was impossible for her not to admire the beauty. She shook her head, though, and burst into action.  
She checked for a pulse on the side of her neck. Kara sighed in relief when she felt a faint beat, throwing a hand to her chest to calm her own heartrate. She wondered who would do this, if it was Lex. An intense feeling of hatred and anger coursed through her veins and she clenched her jaw to stop herself from howling out angrily into the wind.  
She felt Alex next to her and leaned back on her knees to let her sister help.

Alex opened each of Lena's eyes, using her enhanced sight to check if they were responsive to light, which they were. Still, it didn't stop Kara worrying her bottom lip.  
Alex then shook her slightly, and then more, until Lena's head rolled from the force.

"What are you doing?" Kara asked, though she knew the shaking was probably for a good reason. Alex was a bio-engineer in college, so she probably knew what she was doing.

"Stimulating her," Alex stated, briskly tapping her cheek, "She fainted."

"Fainted?" Kara muttering, disbelievingly. She heard Clark scoff from somewhere behind her but ignored him.

Alex nodded in confirmation, "We should get her to my house, mom can fix her up."

The Alpha scooped Lena up like she weighed nothing, with one hand under the bend of her knee and the other on her back. She carefully tilted the Hunter's head so that it rested in the curve of her elbow, just so that it had some support.  
Alex angled Lena's arm around Kara's neck so that the bleeding from the wound would slow.

Kara bit the inside of her cheek. She shouldn’t have let Lena just wander off into the night. It was her fault. She had a responsibility to keep the Hunter safe, and she had failed. She had failed to keep her family safe from the fire too.  
She felt like such a failure as they ran across the Preserve. They had just left her to bleed, what kind of animals were they?  
She decided to put an end to the visions she had of working with Lena and destroying Lex from the inside. It wasn’t worth the risk of Lena dying.

In a matter of minutes, the Pack had sprinted back to Eliza's house, and Kara was laying the Hunter's body on the closest bed.

"We need to clean the wound and stitch her up," Alex informed her mother, while Eliza gathered the first aid kit.

"Please, dear, call the police." Eliza whispered as she cut up some material but Kara shook her head.

"We'll deal with the threat," Kara said confidently, while brushing a raven curl away from Lena's face. She refrained from touching her lips to the other girl’s forehead, instead stepping back and letting them heal the Hunter.

They began cleaning the wound and Kara's brow furrowed with worry. Her usually youthful complexion donned a grave frown; she felt so helpless. She excused herself from the room, joining Clark and James on the outside porch.

"I'm sorry for not being at the beach," James said, approaching his Alpha cautiously.

Kara shook her head. It was the least of her problems at the moment, "It's fine."

There was a pregnant pause when the Betas were unsure how to comfort their Alpha.  
Eventually, though, Clark engulfed his cousin in a hug, and Kara let out a shaky breath, trying to keep it together. He held out his hand for James to take, which he did a moment later.

"Thank you."

Kara pulled back when the sick feeling in her stomach subsided and sniffed. She felt so vulnerable, but she knew she didn't have to hide from her family. It felt strange to call them that, but the Pack were her second family. Not the ones who died in the fire, but the ones who had been reborn from it.  
They were her family. Love bonded them all.

"She's awake!" Alex shouted from inside the house, “Guys, she’s awake!”

Kara and James ran up the stairs and saw Lena still lying on the bed, her hair tousled and head supported by couple of pillows. There was a faint smile on the Hunter's lips as she noticed the Alpha standing at the door.

"Never do that again," Kara pulled her in for a hug, burying her nose in the raven hair.

"No promises," Lena said as Kara pulled back. The Hunter grunted as she looked down at the wound on her arm. It had been cleaned and stitched up already but that didn't stop the pain. She moved her jaw about too, but that didn't seem so bad. There was probably going to be a bruise though which Lena was _not_ looking forward to explaining.

As if reading her mind, Kara held on to her hand and squeezed, both of them watching as the black blood of pain circulated from Lena's arm to Kara's.  
Then it grew hot, and all the pains of an unnatural heat shot to the Hunter’s arm.  
The Alpha inhaled as the pain spread throughout her body. She let go, and Lena sighed with relief when her arm felt as good as new.

"Thanks." Lena said, looking at Kara and then around at Alex and Eliza, "Thank you all."

Alex nodded her head once and Eliza smiled warmly, both exiting the room.

"What were you doing?" Kara asked, trying but failing to keep the exasperation out of her voice.

Lena frowned minimally at the tone, being reminded of Lillian, "Nothing! I didn't do anything, they attacked me!" She was being defensive, but she certainly didn't appreciate the condescending tone being used on her.

"Who's 'they'?" The Alpha asked with a frown.

"Lex and his goons." Lena mumbled, shying away from Kara's gaze, suddenly conscious of the concerned look in her eye, “It’s not that bad.”

“You got _shot--_ ”

“It’s just a graze.”

“--and you’re saying it’s not that bad?” There was a crinkle between the wolf’s eyebrows, showing her worry. But Lena didn’t want her worry. Or her pity. She was stronger than that.

The Hunter cast her eyes back down. She heard Kara sigh and pace around the room but she refused to look back up at the blonde.

Kara broke the tense silence, "I need you to get some rest. This isn't your fight anymore."

Lena's eyes flashed with anger and shock as her head whipped up to the other girl, "You can't be serious? This is my _brother._ ”

"You've been injured. You need to take time to recuperate." Kara said softly, the malice no longer in her voice. She needed to protect Lena. She needed to protect her new family now, the way she couldn't protect her old one.

"I don't, I just fainted!" Lena replied angrily. She needed to prove herself as a valuable member of the Pack. She was stronger than this.

"I... I just can't risk losing you, Lena."

"I'm not yours to lose." Lena thought, but she bit her tongue before she said anything else she would regret.

Kara approached her, and then wrung her hands in front of her, refraining from reaching out to hold the Hunter's hand, "Just get better. Please."

Lena shook her head incredulously, scoffing at the blonde. She turned away and crossed her arms over her chest in the bed, faintly aware of the bandage covering her bicep. She waited until she heard shuffling and the soft thud of the door before she let out a frustrated sigh.  
She wanted to be stronger. She _needed_ to be. She wondered if Kara would turn her into a werewolf if she asked. But she dismissed that idea; she didn't want to be a werewolf. It wasn't who she was.

The Hunter lay down on Kara’s bed, and a restless sleep overtook her body.

 

* * *

 

The next morning, Lucy padded into Kara’s bedroom and poked Lena's sleeping figure until she stirred awake.

The Hunter cracked her eyes open slightly, sighing at the golden sun filtering through the window.

Lena, noticing the other girl, tried to sit up but her arm buckled from underneath her and she collapsed back on to the bed with a groan.

"Sucks, doesn't it." Lucy commented, sitting on the edge of the bed.

"If you've come to persuade me to sit this out, I'll save you the trouble. Kara's already tried." Lena said bitterly, her lack of sleep making her groggier than usual. And so much more stubborn, "Please, just leave."

"Damn, Luthor. I didn't know you had so much venom inside you!" Lucy feigned hurt and Lena couldn't help the small smile tugging at her lips, "I just came to say that Kara cares about you."

"Doesn’t seem like it." She interrupted, wearing a small pout.

Lucy glared at her, "She _does_ care, I promise you." Lucy lifted her top up and exposed her hip, where a small scar marked her skin, "I got this during my first encounter with you Hunters. She didn't let me go out for another three weeks."

"I'm sorry." Lena said with a small voice.

"But I was still part of the Pack." Lucy continued, feeling Lena's gaze drift slowly back towards her, "No matter how many times I can’t help, I'm still part of the Pack."

"We’re human, though. They're all werewolves. We aren't like them." Lena bit her lip in self-pity, "We'll never be as strong or as quick as them."

“We’re only human.” She dismissed it with a wave of her hand.

“I want to feel stronger than that. I want to feel _powerful._ ” She replied with a small, decided nod.

Lucy observed the determined glint in the Hunter’s eye and frowned curiously. She straightened her posture, supposedly understanding Lena, "If you want to be a werewolf, just ask. I'm sure she'll agree."

Lena shook her head furiously, immediately regretting it when her vision started to blur and head began to throb, "No, that's not what I mean. I..." She paused, unsure of how to explain it, "Can you teach me more about werewolves?” Knowledge was power too, she didn’t just want to be physically stronger but mentally as well.

“Well sure, when I’m not cleaning up after that party and you’ve slept for at least another couple hours.”

Lena whined in protest and was happy to see Lucy respond with a light punch to her undamaged arm.  
It reminded her of a family. She felt part of a family, for the first time since her mother’s death.

“Do my parents know I’m here?”

“They think you stayed over at mine to do homework. I texted them from your phone this morning.”

Lena grimaced when she remembered about school, “Lucy, it’s Monday.”

“Don’t worry,” Lucy reassured with a shake of her head, “we’ve all taken days off. God knows were gonna a need ’em. Which reminds me, it’s the full moon tomorrow so that’s when they’ll likely attack.”

“I’ll be ready.”

Lena tried to raise herself again, desperately trying to control her breathing as she leaned her weight on the injured arm.

“Come on, Princess. Take it easy,” Lucy said, and Lena barely registered the nickname. It made her feel empowered, though.

She shook her head when Lucy tried to help her, deciding it was something she needed to do on her own.

Eventually, a strained noise escaped her throat as she got up off the bed, swinging her legs off giddily.

“You’re crazy, Luthor,” Lucy said, only mildly jokingly. The brunette turned on her heel after giving Lena a reassuring smile and left the bedroom.

Lena took a moment to observe Kara’s room for the first time. It felt oddly intimate, and she felt as if she was invading her privacy when she spotted an unfinished painting in the corner of the room.  
A mixture of auburn and sunset orange filled the page, the brushstrokes were haphazard and messy. A swirl of copper filled the middle of the canvas and Lena traced it faintly with her finger.  
It looked to be a painting of the El Fire. There was so much emotion in the strokes and Lena couldn’t help but feel the twang of sadness in her chest.  
She couldn’t stay mad at Kara; she was only trying to protect her. She hadn't been able to look after her family before.

Was it too bold of her to assume she was part of Kara's new family?

The Hunter sighed, massaging her temples before remembering she was still in last night’s dress.

She dug around Kara's closet, finding a whole stack of neatly folded flannels. She smiled to herself, picking a dark blue one from the shelf. It was soft to the touch and obviously well worn, she couldn't help but wonder what Kara looked like in it. Probably like a goddess, as she did in all outfits.  
She stripped herself of her damaged dress, laying it on the bed.  
Being careful of her arm, she found a tank top and a pair of tight jeggings and decided to call it an outfit. She tied her hair back in a braid and looked at herself in the mirror. It would have to do.  
As she stood for longer though, her stomach started to rumble and she slowly meandered her way through the house, following the soft smell of freshly made food.

Lena stopped at the kitchen door, leaning her shoulder on the frame when she saw the Pack pottering about at the dining table. Clark and James set the table, Alex looked to be in charge of the cutlery, Kara was sorting out drinks for everyone, and Lucy was stealing the roast potatoes from the middle.

Alex stood at the table, a confused frown covering her brow, "Okay, do the forks go on the left or the right? I can’t ever remember."

Kara grinned fondly and Lena couldn't help but copy the gesture, "Forks on the left, knives on the right."

"What? I eat with my fork in my right hand?" Alex said, waving the cutlery in her hand as she smiled along with her Alpha.

"That’s because you were raised by wolves, dear," Eliza commented, making the Pack laugh without abandonment.

The thing was, Lena didn't feel like an intruder. She didn't feel like an onlooker observing this Pack. Because it was _her_ Pack too.  
A warm, comforting feeling spread in her chest and she found the pleasant emotion of belonging invade her senses.

Lena approached the Alpha, tentatively touching her hand to Kara's arm to get her attention, "Hey, can we talk?"

"Of course," Kara nodded, pulling Lena outside the door so that they were on the porch.

The afternoon light was perfectly contrasted by the chilly breeze. Lena placed her hands in front of her, on the banister. She felt Kara approach next to her and smiled softly at the safety she felt in the wolf's presence.  
A connection like the one between the two girls could only be found once in a blue moon. And Lena wasn’t going to waste the connection just because she was too proud to ask for help.

"I'm sorry. I know you're just trying to protect me," Lena said after a moment. She faced the Alpha, _her_ Alpha, and stared into the pools of cobalt orbs, "I'm sorry for being so difficult."

"No, I understand, you want to help," Kara replied, tucking a raven curl behind Lena's ear, "I know you're a good Hunter, I just need to learn to trust your instincts, though. If you say you're ready, I need to accept that." She rested her hand on Lena's cheek, on the bruise that had formed into a harsh purple colour.

"Thank you," Lena smiled sweetly, but then she ducked her head away from Kara's gaze.

"You look good in my clothes," Kara said after a moment of silence. Her eyes widened as she realised she'd spoken out loud and a blush dusted Lena's cheeks.

"I didn't have any clean clothes and seeing as we're friends I didn't think it would be an issue." Friends shared clothes, right? The Hunter certainly hadn't with other friends but it felt different with Kara.

"Family. Love bonds us all," Kara corrected with a smile that lit up her whole face; Lena couldn't look away from her beauty.

"Family," Lena grinned back, finding a spark of boldness inside her making her reach out and interlock their hands, "That sounds nice."

 

* * *

 

After eating, the Pack started to get changed into work-out gear and Lena cursed herself for getting injured as soon as she was needed.  
The Pack all moved into Lucy's basement and Lena had to school her emotions when her eyes landed on the training room they'd built. It was completely concealed and covered in sound-proof material so no sound could get in or out.  
The floor was padded with Martial Arts mats, and a mirror covered the opposite wall. There was gym equipment in one corner but the Pack didn’t look to be training just yet.  
Lena approached a compound bow in the corner, her fingers skimming across the metal. Picking it up, she found it to be a comforting weight, nearly the same as the one she had at her house.  
She placed the bow back down after looking through the sight to gauge a proper feel for it.

When she turned back around, Kara had fixed a braid into her hair, the tight tank-top leaving nothing to the imagination. Kara was ripped, there was no doubt about that. The rest of the Pack were too, but Lena only had eyes for the Alpha.

"We have today and tomorrow to train, to iron out our technique," Kara shouted to the Pack, who had lined up in single file. Lena had joined them, locking her hands behind her back, "They'll be expecting a counter-attack. We can't use the same technique as last time, either."

Clark stepped forward, his eyes trained forward, "What if we get them to split up, take them out one by one?"

Kara waited for him to step back before responding, "So we outsmart them?"

"They'll just shoot anything that moves, they have wolf’s bane too," Lena commented, forgetting her place for a moment. She caught herself and ducked her head, stepping back.

"What do you suggest?" Kara asked, the authoritative tone she'd used previously disappearing, "You were a Hunter, after all, you know better than any of us."

"Uh, well, I would attack them when they're most vulnerable," Lena suggested, addressing the rest of the Pack, "We could follow one of them back to their base and then hit it before they kill us."

Kara nodded along thoughtfully, turning to the Pack. They all nodded in affirmation, all apparently trusting Lena's judgement. She tried not to let it get to her head.

"Sounds good. If we wake up early, we can get there and stop them," Kara said, "Are you okay to fight?"

"Try me," Lena smirked, a hint of something strange in her voice, the mirth swirling around in her eyes right up until Kara twirled and kicked the back of her knee, sending her spiralling to the floor.

_Be alert._

Lena shook her head, and she let all mutual friendship break temporarily. The other Pack members had meandered to the side lines, watching the two girls intently. Kara watched like a hawk in the mirror, observing how they both played off each other and discovered their weaknesses.

The Hunter leapt up, brushing her hair out of her way. She held up her hands again, this time ready for the attack.

“Punch her, Lena!” Lucy shouted, cheering her on, “Right hook! Right hook!”

“Kick her, Kar!” Alex joined in.

Kara's leg flashed out and smacked Lena once in the shoulder, swinging her leg to one side so that Lena had to roll on the floor to get away.

Lena swept the feet from under the Alpha and smiled proudly to herself when Kara dropped to the floor. Kara hadn't been expecting that.

James and Lucy whooped when Kara stayed on the floor to catch her breath with a tired smile gracing her features.

She was pleasantly surprised at how quickly Kara sprang to her feet again and charged at her. Lena ducked a punch and could almost feel the breeze from the punch skimming past her head.

Kara didn't fight artfully, but rather like a hurricane, or a stampede. Kara's fists had the whole force of her strong shoulders behind them and Lena would hate to feel the force of one of those punches. She could tell the wolf was holding back though, and that bothered a small part of her mind. She wanted to be treated as an equal.

The next punch from Kara she caught her hand and used the blonde's momentum to throw her to the floor.

Kara was impressed to see the injury wasn’t impacting her ability to fight.

"Don't hold back." Kara instructed from the floor. She saw a cold, detached look in the Hunter's eyes. It made her look like Lex. She buried that thought with a shake of her head.

She was still struggling on the floor when Lena approached. The Hunter kicked her square in the stomach, making Kara splutter in pain. Kara caught her leg and tossed her to the floor too, rolling over and pining her hands above her head.

A chorus of _oooooh_ ’s erupted in the basement but the girls couldn’t hear.

Lena breathed heavily as she realised the position. Her eyes tore into the sea-blue ones. Kara didn’t let go of Lena's wrists, because she was sure to try and flip their positions over. Lena seemed strong enough to do so.  
Lena struggled underneath her, but Kara locked her in by placing her legs either side of the Hunter's hips.

The rest of the world went silent for a heartbeat, and Lena couldn't form any coherent thoughts let alone believe this was happening. She saw Kara's eyes flick to her lips and then search her eyes for something, likely hesitation.

She used that to her advantage, slipping her hands out of Kara’s and placing them on the wolf’s thighs.  
She flipped them over, so that she had Kara breathing heavily on the floor, with the Hunter settled between her legs.

"You're good," The wolf squeaked with a cough as her cheeks turned red, squirming out of the hold.

"Thanks," Lena took a few grounding breaths as she moved back, rubbing the back of her knee.

Kara dusted herself off the floor and addressed the group, “Split off and train for an hour. After, I want Clark and James to follow the scent of the Hunters. Report back as soon as you see their base.”

James nodded but Clark simply stared forward. Kara frowned at this, and walked towards him, taking a mental note of his clenched jaw.

"Why can't we kill them there and then?" Clark burst suddenly and his emerald eyes bore into Kara's, "They won’t hesitate to kill us."

Kara shook her head with a scoff, "That kind of mentality will get you killed, Clark." She shut her eyes, trying not to think about Sam, "You will just observe. We are not killers."

"No, we are predators, it should be in our blood," Clark returned with a frown.

"Clark..." James touched his partner's shoulder, retracting his hand when he felt Clark wince away, "We may be predators, but we are _not_ killers."

"Yeah, well maybe we should be," Clark said, starting to walk out of the basement.

"Valuing life is not weakness, Clark," Lena muttered softly.

Clark turned to her and she could see the rage bubbling within him, threatening to spill, "And your brother would know about valuing life, wouldn't he now? You pretend you’re an ally - for what purpose? No. You are not my ally, you are a _Hunter_.”

“I’m trying to help!” Lena frowned as she shouted back, “I don’t have to be here!”

“Well then leave. We’ve managed this long without you.”

"Clark!" Kara barked, her eyes flashing crimson.

The older Beta gulped down his emotions and shook his head, refusing to meet his Alpha's eyes. He stormed out of the basement.  
Lucy lifted her hand to tell the Pack she would calm him down, and she left too.

Kara brushed her loose hair back with her hand and sighed.

"Are you okay?" Alex asked her Pack sister.

Lena nodded despite the tears threatening to fall against her will, "I'm fine."

"We don't have time for this," The Alpha stated angrily, "They will attack tomorrow and we are having family squabbles."

"I should go home, I think," Lena said, "I'll sit this fight out if it makes Clark stay."

"No, please, we need you," Kara replied, with a quick shake of her head, " _I_ need you."

She’d never been awfully good at hiding her emotions, so Kara’s whole face lit up with a hopefulness only comparable to a child in a candy store.  
Lena observed this and smirked; pretty girls and favours.

“Well,” Lena quirked an eyebrow, “How could I say no?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think we need some character development for Clark right?? tbh his character has just become more like Derek Hale but I'm leaning into it now


	6. Alliances

Clark trudged along the ground silently, preferring to shed his human skin and revert to his wolf's skin. He had always felt more comfortable as a wolf, especially because the animals had limited emotions compared to humans.  
Ultimately, Lena was a Hunter. That's all she would ever be.

But he did recognise Lena had got hurt because of them, and no one deserved that. He was just being dramatic with his hatred.  
He glanced behind himself at James, who had also shifted into wolf form. He inhaled his calming scent and quelled the thoughts of hatred he felt towards Lena and her family.

After training for a couple hours, he and James had started to track a Hunter – by catching his scent from Lena's dress – through the Preserve for what felt like hours; the wolves often misplaced time once they shifted.

They still hadn't spotted anything interesting in the Preserve, and Clark was nearly completely consumed by ennui to care anymore. But he knew he had to follow Kara's instructions. She was the Alpha, after all. A distant whisper in his mind wondered what his life would be like if he had taken Alura's power instead.  
But he twitched his nose to dismiss that thought. Kara was the Alpha. He was the Beta. That's just how it worked out.

The air was cold and their fur offered little reprieve. In the carpet of pine needles their pawprints didn't show. The sun shone brightly in the sky but they knew it was only a matter of a day before the full moon came out. Yes, they would be stronger, but their bloodlust would increase too and Clark didn't know if he would be able to resist the pull to kill. That was always a struggle for him since the El Fire.

He huffed when they started to approach a small shack that looked to have only one room. They stopped at the treeline, hugging the shadows of the trees.

James shifted into a human after stretching his arms above his head in a yawning motion. He approached the treeline tentatively, feeling his bones vibrate with something strange, something that made worry blossom in his chest.  
It was like pure adrenaline, or pure horror. Either way, his chest began to tighten as he held his hand up in front of him.  
Clark shifted too, hovering behind James after smelling the raw scent of fear radiating off his friend.

They both watched as James' hand hesitantly touched a barrier created by the trees. The barrier flashed blue, illuminating a circle around the shack.  
Mountain ash.

James glanced down at the faint trace of the barrier on the ground. They had encountered mountain ash before; it was used by Hunters and some druids to keep supernatural beings away from them.  
They would need a human to upset the circle in order to get to the shack, but Lucy could do that easily.

It confirmed that they were in the right place and they glanced around the house, taking note of the two vehicles parked next to it. They looked through the windows to see an arsenal resting in gun cases scattered around in the room. There were mirrors all around the room too, but Clark disregarded them when he zoned in on the heartbeats.

James listened in for heartbeats around them, noticing seven separate ones. Lena had said she was attacked by three not including Lex, but that there were around half a dozen in total, so it added up.  
James nodded once at Clark, certain that this was their base of operations.

 

* * *

 

"A game? Seriously?" Alex asked, taking a long swig of her beer, "It's like an hour till the full moon and you wanna play a game?"

"Yeah!" Lucy exclaimed excitedly as she pried the bottle out of her Pack sister's hands, "Pleeease?"

"Good idea, Luce," Kara said, "It will be a good distraction."

The Pack was in Eliza's living room – Kara and Lena sat on the sofa with Lucy next to them, Alex resting on the arm of the sofa, while Clark and James sat on the floor.

"Fine. Truth or dare?" Alex asked, watching as Lucy kneeled on the sofa to face her.

Lucy spoke after a moment of deliberation, "Dare."

"I dare you to stop this game."

"Alex!" Kara whined, subconsciously snuggling closer to Lena as she reached over to push Alex off the edge of the sofa.

The Alpha heard the hitch in Lena's breath and was about to move away but she saw the Hunter's parted lips turn upwards into a small smile, and then a laugh when Alex let out a squeak when she hit the floor.

Lena grabbed for her phone, debating whether or not she should call her parents; they hadn't asked where she was, it didn't seem like they cared where she was. It wasn't like she wanted to go back to that house she was supposed to call home, _this_ was her home – with Kara and the rest of the Pack.

Kara noticed her finger hovering over the 'call' button and silently wrapped her arm around the Hunter's shoulders. Lena blushed and hung her head, feeling Kara's stare on her.

Lucy poked her on the shoulder to get her attention back, "Your turn, Kar. Truth or dare?"

"Truth," Kara was too smart to be subjected to one of Lucy Lane's dares.

"Who do you have a crush on right now?"

_Damn._

Kara's eyes darted to Lena, who had a soft blush dusting her cheeks. Kara listened into her heartbeat, revelling in the minor uptick when their eyes met.

"I'm not playing this game, Luce." Kara responded, being met with a symphony of _boooo's_ when she went to stand up.  
Lena stood up to grab herself a glass of water, trying to hide her blush with the rim of the glass.

"Alright seeing as no one’s actually playing," Lucy took mercy on her friend, "Sleepy time, then?"

"Yeah, I'm so tired," James said, getting up off the floor and offering his hand to Clark, who took it gratefully.

Lena went to the bedroom she'd been sleeping in before, not realising Kara was already there.

The Hunter couldn’t help but stare when Kara took her top and trousers off, leaving her in a black bra that contrasted perfectly with her pale skin. She looked so soft, but so strong at the same time.

Lena wondered what the skin would feel like beneath her fingers, if her muscles were as tight as they looked, what they would feel like quivering under her touch. Completely at her mercy.

But she clenched her jaw and averted her gaze before Kara caught her staring.

"You can stay, you know," Kara said, turning around after putting an oversized t-shirt on, leaving her legs on show, "In our Pack, I mean."

"I- uh, yes. I know," Lena spluttered out, feeling her cheeks burn with a flush as Kara strode towards her, a strange look in her eyes that the Hunter could only describe as predatory. Her stomach folded itself in knots and she decided she liked the feeling.

"It's you," Kara whispered, "The one I have a crush on is you." Her voice sounded foreign, like someone else, someone more brazen was speaking for her.

"I know," She breathed out as Kara tilted the Hunter's chin up.

Kara leaned down, making her intentions known to the other girl. She paused, though, to look into Lena's darkening eyes, "Tell me to stop."

Lena shook her head as she backed herself up against the door, pulling Kara towards her with her hands on the blonde's hips, "I don't want you to stop."

A flurry of emotions flashed across the Hunter's face – attraction, need, desire. If it wasn't for Kara's enhanced senses she would have missed them. But she didn't.  
Lena stepped on her tip-toes to stand in front of her, their bodies fitting perfectly together.  
The blonde felt Lena cup her cheek and her eyes fluttered closed at the contact; she felt like the wolf again the first time they met in the Preserve.  
Allowing a small smile to spread across her features, the wolf lowered herself the rest of the way.

When their lips finally brushed against each other for the first time, Lena felt the breath leave her body. She felt like she was going to faint from the feeling, it felt like she was kissing an angel; she clung to Kara's shoulders when the blonde changed the angle of the kiss, her knees almost buckling from under her.  
Her lips felt so soft, yet urgent. A mixture that had Kara written all over it. Lena never wanted to forget.

Kara could feel herself getting lost in the kiss and she placed her hands on the door behind Lena, making it click shut.

Eventually, they pulled back for air and Kara grinned at the awestruck look on Lena's face. The Hunter's eyes remained closed and the soft glow of the light made her look so delicate. So fragile. But Kara was certain she was one of the strongest people she knew.

"Wow..." That was all the Hunter could say while her breathing began to regulate itself again.

Everything was moving so fast. Kara wasn’t really one for change, but this seemed like a change for the better. She didn’t have to hide with Lena, she could tell her everything. It just felt right with Lena, like she was exactly where she was supposed to be.

"I've wanted to do that for ages," Kara muttered, her voice sounding hoarse with a raw emotion that made Lena bite her lip.

"I'm glad you did." Lena replied, nipping at the blonde's bottom lip.

"Me. Too." Kara said between kisses.

Lena pulled her down again and deepened the kiss by running her tongue across the blonde's bottom lip. Kara dutifully opened her mouth, exploring and charting the new territory with her tongue.

Kara was staking her claim, though she understood Lena belonged to no one. It was the wolf that wanted to claim Lena as her own. As a plaything. But Lena was more than that, Kara just didn't know what.

Lena’s mind went blank for a moment when their tongues danced around each other but then she let her thoughts stray and wonder what her life would be like if her family hadn’t moved to National City, or if Lex hadn’t burned the El Family, or if her family weren’t Hunters.  
She would have never met Kara. She would have just continued with her life, completely oblivious to the comfort a single person could radiate; she would have been oblivious to the happiness someone could feel when they just clicked with another. Lena didn’t want to live in a Kara-less world.

Kara pulled her towards the bed and the pair fell backward on to it, never breaking the languid kiss.

Kara’s head met the pillow and she sank into the bed, watching as Lena crawled on top of her. Kara guided her upwards to place a soft, gentle kiss on the Hunter’s lips, “Are you okay?”

Lena nodded again, leaning forward again for another sweet kiss, smiling into Kara’s mouth.

She remained mindful of Lena’s injuries as she ran her fingers up her arms, fingers skirting across the bandage.

The wolf settled her hands in the raven locks she had become accustomed to.

The Alpha could feel herself losing control when Lena kissed down her neck, biting softly at her collarbone. It was like her dreams were becoming a reality.

But Kara couldn't continue.

Not now. Not on the full moon.

She couldn't be sure who was fully in control - her or the wolf inside her.

“Wait, wait...” Kara turned away, breathing heavily as her eyes flashed crimson. It was the night of the full moon and Kara could already feel it's allure. She glanced up its shining face outside the window and swallowed down the urge to howl at it, “I can’t. I’m sorry.”

 _Three things cannot be long hidden. The sun, the moon, the truth._ Kara repeated the mantra Alura had taught her all those years ago in her mind. _The sun, the moon, the truth._

Lena paused, looking up through hooded lashes until she saw the conflict on the blonde's face.  
She placed a finger on Kara's cheek, making their eyes meet again.

"Please don't hide," Lena whispered, knowing the other girl could hear her.

"I'm sorry," She repeated, gathering her strength to let her eyes dull back to their normal shade after a moment. She needed to learn to control herself.

_Three things cannot be long hidden. The sun, the moon, the truth._

"It's okay." Lena said, rolling off her body, "Come on. We should sleep.”

Maybe they were moving too fast, maybe they were too young to understand their feelings just yet, maybe... Maybe they just weren’t meant to be.

Lena gulped down those feelings; she knew what she felt for Kara was real but she had a job to do.  
_Protect those who can’t protect themselves._

Lena crawled up the bed and lay her head on Kara’s chest, the wolf wrapping a protective arm around her shoulder to bring her closer.  
She leaned into the wolf’s embrace and sighed at the development in their friendship. Relationship. Whatever they were, it was good. It felt right.

Though they had only known each other for a short time, Lena knew for certain she could fall in love with the blonde. She was only slightly terrified of that admission but it was the truth.

After a beat of silence, Kara whispered softly, “I’m not sure if you noticed but I like you. A lot.”

It felt like a secret she wasn’t supposed to know. She wondered if Kara would have spoken those words out loud in the daylight. If the moon was making her more brazen and confident. If it was an illusion that the morning would break.

Lena was just glad it was dark, otherwise she wouldn’t have been able to conceal the blush. She raised her eyebrow, “Really?”

Lena felt the wolf’s lips curl into a smile as she kissed the crown of her head, “Mhmm.” Kara mumbled sleepily.

Lena remembered her original plan of no attachments. She wanted to help this Pack and then leave. How had it turned into this? She wasn't complaining though, as Kara's breath tickled the back of her neck. She threw an arm across Kara’s stomach and prayed to whatever God there was that they made it out alive tomorrow.

She wondered what the future would hold, if there would even be a future after tomorrow. As her breath began to steady, all she knew for certain was that she didn’t want to leave anymore.

 

* * *

 

Lex angled the mirrors in the room, watching as the beam of sunlight illuminated the hole beneath them. He had already had his men dig up the burial site, and now the final ingredient was here. Moonlight.  
The dug-up floorboards were scattered across the room haphazardly but Lex didn't care. It was finally happening. He had been waiting for the body to get enough power; all his Hunting experience told him that werewolves needed at least two years to be able to resurrect. And now it was time.

He should hate Sam; she killed Lena's mother, after all. But now Lena had joined the enemy, he didn’t care. They had a mutual enemy. Sam would work with him, he was sure of it.

He stepped back and watched when the moonlight lined up with Sam's body and he injected her with a concoction he'd made a year ago, when his plan was hatched.

The Aconitum surrounding her on the rope that bound her wrists turned black and Lex stared in awe.  
Sam's body, covered in rubble and hardened soil, began to crack. The Hunters waited with bated breath when Sam's nails slid out of their cocoon.  
She was stronger, like a phoenix rising from the ashes, although she had a new motive on her mind – retribution.  
He would have called it beautiful if Lex's mind hadn't been clouded by revenge.

Sam's eyes flew open and she twisted her head before letting out a bloodcurdling roar. Her eyes flared red, like an Alpha, and Lex gulped.

"Kara Zor-El's Pack killed you." Lex said slowly as he approached the wolf, "I brought you back."

"What do you want?" Sam asked, her voice croaking out while she sat up straight in her grave, eyeing the man curiously.

Lex stood up, stuffing his hands in the pockets of his trousers with a smirk, "Your help."

Sam narrowed her eyes at him but nodded once. Lex's smirk only grew. His plan was working.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope this _revived_ the storyline hehehehhehehe
> 
> Also the moon would totes act as a clam jam for those two


	7. Youthful Innocence

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Psst!! Look at the first letter of the chapters for a hidden message ;)

Lucy had broken the seal made of mountain ash and the surrounding trees flashed a pale blue, almost the shade of the sky. The Pack watched in awe as the barrier disintegrated into nothing. Clark crept towards the shack, his eyes burning yellow until they were all Lena could see in the rough morning light that was shielded by rain clouds. Clark glanced at Kara, who nodded once.

Lena observed the crinkle between the Alpha's brows. She was beautiful, even in the straining light. She knew she shouldn't be thinking about that right now, but it was impossible not to notice how the dull light from the sky reflected off Kara's soft features.

But she had a job to do. She would take Lex down. She would stop him before he hurt anyone else.

Lena wondered why Lex hadn’t attacked them on the night of the full moon. She wondered if hurting her family was something she should be so flippant about.  
But Kara's words resonated through her – love bonds us all. It didn’t matter that Lex was family, all that mattered was he was doing bad. He was doing evil. And that was unforgivable.  
She had a duty to protect. And that’s what she would do.

Clark threw a grenade through an open window and ducked away quickly. The smoke grenade went off with an almost deafening sound, shaking the very Earth around them. Lena shook herself and put on a determined frown. This was right. What she was doing was right.  
Lena cradled the bow she'd borrowed from Kara, nervously running her fingers over the metal in an attempt to quell her nerves. Dead silence. That's what she could hear. It reminded her of the first night in National City, when this all started.

Kara gestured at them to hide and the Pack scattered. Lena got a boost from Clark, who had signalled to her to climb up a tree. Clark then ran to another tree, hiding in the shadows.

Lena landed her feet on a solid branch and hugged the bark to shield herself from any observers. She spotted movement out of the corner of her eye and drew an arrow.

_Don't doubt yourself. Trust your instincts._

There was a roar. She whipped her head to the source, which was stumbling out of the shack. A young woman, maybe a few years older than them, stumbled out wearing nothing but a hostile frown.

"Come on, Kara _Zor-El_ , you killed me once, I dare you to try again." The woman barked, her head scanning the trees, her scarlet eyes landing on the blonde.

Kara looked so scared. Lena wanted nothing but to hold her in her arms, take her pain like the Alpha had with her. But it wasn't necessary. Kara was strong, despite the tears threatening to fall.

"Sam..." Kara blinked hard while she worked her jaw, trying to make sense of the situation, "You were dead."

"Lex Luthor brought me back." Sam looked over her shoulder, just as Lex escaped the house, his usually pristine suit covered with a sheen layer of dust, eyes red from the smoke grenade.

"You're a monster." Lena spat from her vantage point, revelling in the small, subtle scowl tugging at Lex's smirk.

"Now, now, Lena." Lex chastised, pointing a gun at her, "Let's not be rude, hm?"

"Go to hell, Lex." Lena shook her head, placing her feet firmly on the wood of the tree, aiming her arrow at her brother.

Kara growled at the three other soldiers, nodding her head in their direction. Lucy, James and Alex bound over to them, and they started to exchange blows. The soldiers had the wolf's bane-laced daggers and other weapons but the Pack had their wits. And increased strength, of course.

Alex had taken down one soldier already and she knocked him out with a quick punch to his face. She whipped her head up in time to catch the guy James had hauled at her, and Alex stuck her arm out so that she could wrap her arm around the man's throat.  
Two down. One to go.

Lucy shot her weapon at the man but he was wearing a bullet-proof vest. She chucked her useless weapon to the floor, reaching behind her and grabbing the AR-15 strapped to her back, silently thanking her dad for keeping the armour-piercing rounds available to her.  
She shot the man's chest, making him fall to the ground like the rest. Lucy hit the butt of the gun on his head for good measure.

Lena let her arrow fly; it clipped Sam’s shoulder and the wolf let out a bloodcurdling scream of anger.  
Clark scowled and punched Sam square in the chest, sending her spiralling back.  
Kara flicked out her nails and roared, making all of the wolves stop their movements. The roar of an Alpha was their most powerful weapon, it allowed them to subdue all supernatural creatures.

Sam stumbled back, blinking her eyes a couple times. She had a confused expression on her face, as if the roar had woken her up.  
Maybe there was hope for Sam. Maybe she wasn't just another monster consumed by anger. Maybe she was good, somewhere deep inside.

It had started to drizzle now, and Sam looked like a lost puppy. Innocent. Confused.

The Pack exchanged glances until Sam charged at the nearest person – Clark.

He defended himself, blocking each advance with a lifetime’s worth of skills. Sam slashed at his chest, ripping the t-shirt, leaving a gash on Clark’s chest.

Sam inhaled deeply, and her wolf-form took over.  
Lena watched in awe as the skin turned into fur, as her expression slowly turned into a neutral look of displeasure. The wolf still had a gash where Lena had hit her with the arrow but it was healing visibly, the rain washing the blood away.  
The wolf charged herself at Clark, who put his hands up to defend himself.

Lena's eyes flicked between Kara, who was in a fist-fight with Lex, and Clark, who was being clawed at by the wolf. She couldn't think of Sam as a human, it would just make it harder.  
Sam was just the monster who killed her mother. Nothing more, nothing less. She couldn’t think of her as anything else.

She leapt off the tree and onto the back of the wolf. Her arms wound around its neck and her thighs gripped its loins. Lena was surprised at the feel of the wolf; the thick winter fur was worlds different to Kara's, but she could feel the cleverly concealed muscles rippling.  
She was thrown on to the wet floor.

Her pulse was quickening, but not racing. She wasn't scared. She was stronger than that.  
Lena drew an arrow and watched as it plunged into the wolf's flesh.

Clark grabbed the wolf by the throat, squeezing until Sam transformed back into a human. Her honey eyes pleaded with Clark, but he barely regarded her apart from the hand around her throat until he released her with a growl. Lena could see the humanity inside him fighting with the urge to kill, so she reached behind herself in her quiver to fish out the arrow she'd laced with yellow wolf's bane just in case.

With shaky fingers, she drew the arrow back, watching as Sam rose to her full height, the pleading look in her eye replaced with a determined frown that she had set towards Clark.

The Beta had his claws out in preparation as he snarled at Sam, snapping his teeth as a warning.

Lena waited until Sam was going to slash at Clark before she let the arrow fly.

It landed in her bicep, and Sam glanced towards the former Hunter. Lena grimaced as their eyes met. She had to look away.

Lena heard the gasps of pain and it was enough to make her feel sick. She felt like a monster. She was exactly the same as Lex.

" _No!_ " Lex shouted, bringing the Pack’s attached to him. There was silence in the Preserve, save from everyone’s laboured breaths.

He had thrown Kara who the floor, and the Alpha had landed next to a stump.  
Lena watched in horror as Lex rose his gun again, her eyes tearing up as he aimed it at Kara.

“Unfortunately,” Lex snarled, “These bullets won’t work on a wolf.” He turned the gun to Lena, “But they do work on humans.”

Lena closed her eyes and tried to block out the scream of protest from Kara, the instruction from Lucy to move. It was her time. She would be strong. It was okay because she would die for protecting something she believed in. For people she loved.  
It was her destiny, of sorts.

As the rain beat down on them, she wondered if it was poetic, to spend most of her life killing supernatural creatures only to die protecting them. By her own brother, no less.

Her mind didn’t register the shuffle of leaves, but she definitely felt herself being pushed out of the way by strong, forceful hands.  
As her body met the wet ground, a shot rang out in the Preserve.  
And then silence.

Lena blinked her eyes open, slowly, hesitantly.  
She registered Clark on the ground next to her, struggling to keep his breath steady.  
He’d taken a bullet for her. After all his speeches about not caring about her, he had saved her life.

Clark offered her a small, tight-lipped smile as he sat up, “You would’ve done the same for me.”

James punched Lex once, in the face, and the Hunter fell to the ground in a heap.  
He flicked the handcuffs out and made quick work of restraining Lex, the Hunter’s bleary eyes making him look years younger.

“You’re under arrest, Lex.” James’s voice was strong, smooth, as he contained his hatred.

“We’ll make sure you’re in prison for a very long time.” Kara recovered, pulling herself off the ground the stand in front of Lex, who still had the disbelieving look plastered on his face.

“I will tell _everyone_. No one will ever look at you the same. You’re all monsters.” Lex tried to sit up, but his restrained hands prevented him from doing so.

“You will tell no one. You will leave my Pack alone. In return, we won’t kill you.” Kara stood strong, her hands resting on her hips as she looked down at the wayward Hunter.

James clenched his jaw, subtly nodding at his Alpha.  
He reached into his pocket and turned on the device.

"Kill me, already." Lex grumbled as James yanked him up, "Or are you too weak, Kara Zor-El? Like you were too weak to save your family in the fire at the House of El."

"We've learned a better way." Clark growled at him, snarling with his teeth shining in the dull light. But he didn't attack; Lex was only trying to provoke him.

"I remember the screams. I'm proud of what I did."

"It was you who set the fire?" James asked, feigning confusion.

Lex copied his expression for a moment, before tugging on his restraints to no avail, "They needed to die."

"Got it!" James exclaimed, taking his phone out of his pocket.

Lex's eyes flicked to the device, his puzzled eyes scanning over the screen until the realisation dawned on him.  
They had recorded his confession.

"I will expose your family as werewolves." Lex threatened, though the warning was in vain.

"No, you won't. You will do time in prison, you will take it. Because if you don't, we will come for you." Kara instructed, her voice calm, controlled, "We aren't going to kill you this time. Yes, maybe that makes us weak," Clark gave his cousin a small smile, "but I know there's strength in my decision."

Lex grumbled something unintelligible and Lena approached her older brother, the man who she had looked up to for many years until he set the fire.  
She bit her lip as tears threatened to fall. She was glad for the rain, though, which masked her anger.

Despite her understanding of what he'd done, there was still a part of her that wanted Lex to be good, to be better. But his chances were over. He didn't deserve her hope, or her love. There was only one person she loved.

Lena turned to Kara, who offered her a tight-lipped smile. They stood in silence until Clark told them the Police were on their way. Lex was the Police Department's problem now.

“My parents are gonna be so mad.” Lena stated, pressing her eyes shut. Or maybe they wouldn’t care. They hadn’t exactly sent search parties after her, so they had to trust she knew what she was doing. Or maybe they just didn’t care.

“Stay with us, instead.” Kara suggested, tucking Lena’s hair behind her ear before cradling her face in her palms, “Please?”

Lena just nodded, her eyes flicking to Lex and then back to Kara. She leaned into Kara’s calming embrace as she held her tightly.  
The Alpha kissed her forehead softly, smoothing Lena's wet raven locks away from her face to stare into her eyes reassuringly. They were all safe.  
They embraced until the Police officers came.

It was finally over.

 

* * *

 

Lena ducked the hand flying towards her face, and she threw the wolf to the floor, the body landing with a thud on the training mat.  
Kara groaned in pain, watching with smitten eyes as Lena bounced on her feet in front of her with a smirk playing at her lips.

“You've gotten better.” Kara said, accepting Lena's outstretched arm, "I think you're ready."

“Oh, please, I was always ready.” Lena poked her in the stomach, laughing when she felt that Kara had tensed her muscles.

Kara’s fingers ran delicately over the scar on Lena’s arm. The injury had healed, but the scar was still present; it was a reminder of how the people she held closest could become her enemies. Like Lex.

“That’s true, Miss Luthor.” Kara conceded, leaning down to place a sweet kiss on the former Hunter's lips.

Lena pulled her down and deepened the kiss, running her fingers under the wolf's tank top. Kara purred in response, smoothing her hands down Lena's figure until she reached her thighs.  
The Alpha picked her girlfriend up and Lena wrapped her legs around Kara on instinct. Kara carried her to the nearest wall, refusing to break the kiss until Lena grabbed her face and forced their lips away.  
They breathed heavily into each other, staring into the others' eyes. Memorising them. Making sure they wouldn't forget.

“I’m so proud of you.” Kara whispered, her voice washing over Lena's neck, where she planted fleeting kisses, moving lower.

Lena fisted her blonde locks, urging Kara on, “It's what needs to be done.”

Kara grinned and brought their lips together again, revelling in the comfort of Lena’s body. She was so selfless, so brave. It made the Alpha feel honoured too have her in her Pack, even if it was only briefly. But Lena was still part of her Pack, even if she wasn’t with them all of the time, or maybe at all from now on.  
Lena had a family with them, no matter what.

“What are you thinking about?” Lena asked, twirling a blonde lock between her fingers.

“You.” Kara responded with a small smile; it didn’t matter that they had been together for three months, or that they had officially moved in with each other in the Danvers' house. She would still get nervous around Lena, get flustered every time their eyes would meet for a second too long.  
Lena was special.

Lena’s eyes melted and she planted another kiss on her girlfriend’s lips. They felt so soft, yet urgent. A mixture that had Kara written all over it. Lena refused to forget.

“Y'all better stop banging!” Lucy shouted from outside the training room, as a way of announcing her presence.

The last time they tried to have sex in the training room had been scarred into Alex's and James' eyes for eternity, so the Pack had come up with the idea of announcing themselves when entering any room, for the benefit of Kara, Lena, James, and Clark, seeing as the boys had finally admitted their love a few months ago.

Lena groaned, resting her head on Kara's shoulder for a moment to stop herself from telling Lucy to just leave them alone, until the Alpha lowered her to the floor.  
The former Hunter tugged Kara's tank top down and pouted at her. Kara half-glared, half-smiled at her, pecking her lips quickly.

“We're decent!” Kara shouted back and Lucy came bounding in.

“I swear you two go at it like rabid dogs.” She muttered under her breath, earning a pair of narrowed eyes from Kara, “Your driver awaits, Princess.” Lucy said formally with a wave of her hand and a bow, earning a laugh from Lena.

“For the record, that nickname sucks.” The former Hunter smiled warmly at her Pack sister.

“For the record, I don’t give a crap.” Lucy replied cheekily but she ran up to the other girl and wrapped her in a tight hug. She felt Lena shake in her arms and rubbed her back softly, “Don’t go crying on me, Luthor.”

“Shut up.” Lena pushed her away with a smile playing on her lips despite her teary eyes, “I’m really gonna miss this.”

“Stop, you’re gonna make me cry.” Kara muttered, welling up as she slipped her arms around Lena’s waist.

“It will only be a week. Just a trial before I know for certain it’s what I want to do.” Lena replied, weaving her arms around Kara’s shoulders.

It had been decided, after a month’s deliberation, that Lena would make good on her promise to herself – she would protect those who couldn’t protect themselves. She would use her knowledge of the Hunting families to stop them hurting innocents. She would be strong enough to protect everyone. Clark would go too, just in case, although Lena's fainting spell was only a one-off.

They heard the honking of a car outside Lucy’s house and Kara slowly extracted herself.

Lena grabbed the bow and arrows she’d used when they had first fought together as a Pack. She hadn’t been back to the old House of El to retrieve her belongings because she had finally found a place she just fit in. With this Pack everything felt natural. But she needed to move on.

After Lex’s arrest and trial, Lena had lost purpose. She needed to help someone.

It was right. It was for the greater good, and all. But it still hurt whenever Kara thought about not having Lena to hold when she fell asleep.  
But it’s was the right thing to do. Lena was being her own hero. And she trusted in Lena’s abilities to not get hurt.

They dragged themselves outside and Clark flailed his hands from the driver’s seat, “I’ve been waiting forever!”

“Oh please, stop being so dramatic.” Alex said, as she glared at Clark. She turned to Lena, who had put her suitcase in the trunk, “Take care of yourself.”

“I’ll try.” Lena nodded her head, before turning to her Pack, "Good luck with your upcoming Lacrosse match. I know you'll thrash them."

Lucy gave her a thumbs up.

“Here.” Kara said as she took the leather jacket from James, “I think this belongs to you.”

“Keep it, you’d look like a badass.” Lena said, her eyes welling up with emotion as she watched Kara don the jacket. She was right, Kara did look like a goddess in everything she wore.

She shut her eyes, basking on the warmth of the summer sun, as she tried to instil the memory in her mind.

Kara watched on as Lena’s brow furrowed in concentration.  
Despite her stern expression, Lena was the most beautiful person she’d ever seen. There was an elegance to her mannerisms, her quick-witted responses always earning a smile or laugh from the blonde.

In that moment, Kara finally understood her feelings.  
Love. She was in love.  
Of _course_ it was love.

Kara was so happy she wouldn’t have cared if her heart burst out of her tightening chest.

She wanted to scream it out into the morning, to tell anyone and everyone who would listen. She wanted to run the pad of her thumb across Lena’s cheek, to kiss her and say that they would make it work. Because she loved her.

But instead, she held onto Alex’s hand as Lena got in the car. It would be so much harder to let Lena leave if she admitted her love. And Kara knew leaving was something Lena had to do; she would just be selfish if she told her now.  
James quickly kissed Clark on the lips before letting his boyfriend leave.

She watched as the car got smaller and smaller while it travelled on the dirt road away to Metropolis.

The long distance relationship would be hard, but Kara knew for certain there wasn’t a single person she would rather be with. Lena was special. After Lex’s imprisonment the Pack felt calmer, content. They were a family.

She frowned when the vehicle did a U-turn and headed back.

“What’s happened?” Kara asked, focusing her hearing on Lena’s erratic heartbeat.

Lena ran out of the passenger side and hauled herself into Kara’s arms.

“I love you.” Lena whispered into her hair as Kara cradled her head, “I love you so much.”

Kara nodded, wiping her thumb across Lena’s pale cheek as she smiled down at her. It was perfect. She was in the arms of the first person she’d ever fallen in love with. The person who owned her heart for eternity.

“I love you too, Lena.” Kara bit her lip to stop herself from sympathy crying. She held her close again, desperate not to let go. She couldn’t let her go, not now, “You should go now. Before it gets any harder. Please.”

Lena nodded in her arms and loosened her grip, “I’ll call every night, okay? Don’t worry about me.”

“Promise?” Kara looked at her with a soft, innocent pout and it took all of Lena’s willpower not to kiss it off her.

“Promise.” She confirmed with a strained smile. She wiped the blonde’s tear off her cheek and let out a stuttering breath.

Lena kissed her and her lips lingered, trying to convince the wolf of the promise. The former Hunter couldn’t work out whose tears she could taste in the desperate kiss. Kara pulled back and bit her lip, smiling tightly back at Lena.

“Just let her go.” Kara whispered as Lena got in the car again. The words resonated through her, reminding her of what happened the last time she said that. But this time she was sure Lena would be okay. She was stronger, faster, and she had Clark to back her up. There was no need for her doubt or worry.

James clapped her on the shoulder as the car sped away for real this time and the Alpha didn’t quite know what to do for a moment.  
The Pack stood on the porch in silence as they contemplated hugging Kara, but Lucy spoke up before anyone took action.

“Pizza and a movie at mine if anyone’s interested?”

“Hell yeah.” Alex rubbed her hands together and followed James into the house.

“Kar?” Lucy put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

“I did the right thing, right? By letting her go?” Kara asked, her voice small, fragile.

“Please,” Lucy scoffed, “It’s Lena. She’ll be back within the week, I bet you.”

 

* * *

 

True to Lucy’s prediction, Lena came back. She had a couple new wounds but the pure joy on her face when she told her stories of action and adventure made it worth it. It seemed the Hunters in Metropolis were no match for the pair from the Zor-El Pack. Eventually word would spread within the Hunter's families that they couldn't kill innocent werewolves, and that's all Lena wanted.

No matter how many times Kara and Lena were separated, they always managed to find their way back to each other.

They slept that night no longer afraid of the dark and no longer with ghosts haunting their dreams. Finally, they were peaceful. Finally, they were happy, because they had each other.  
There was just that small problem of school exams but that didn’t matter.  
Because they had each other.

A werewolf and a Hunter. Who would have believed it?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anddd that's all, folks! It's officially Mason's birthday today so happy birthday, kiddo!! I hope everyone enjoyed reading this as much as I did writing it


End file.
